Liberty Counsel sent a letter to the superintendent of Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) for discriminating against Cooper City Church by unconstitutionally removing the church’s sponsorship sign from Cooper City High School while keeping other community sponsor signs on display on campus. The church has requested reinstatement of the sign and equal treatment with other sponsors. However, the district’s Office of Legislative Affairs ordered the sign’s removal after a “complaint regarding religious organizations” and has not responded to the church’s repeated requests to discuss or Liberty Counsel’s letter sent April 19, 2024.
Removing the church’s sign for this reason and in this manner violates the First Amendment and its Free Speech, Free Exercise of Religion, and Establishment Clauses, as well as both Florida law and U.S. Supreme Court precedent.
In early 2023, Cooper City Church entered a “Partners in Education Sponsorship” agreement with Cooper City High School investing in school programs, which was a “Gold Level” sponsorship package, that included recognition on prime banner space locations, school website and yearbook, recognition at home games, and more. Contrary to the agreement, the church is also not currently listed on the school’s website as a partner or sponsor, and it is unclear whether all other sponsorship benefits have been cancelled.
In the letter, Liberty Counsel informed BCPS that U.S. Supreme Court precedent in Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc. v. Comer held that denying an available benefit “solely on account of religious identity” without passing the highest standard of constitutional review both violates and “deters” the exercise of First Amendment rights. In addition, in Liberty Counsel’s Shurtleff v. City of Boston case involving the censoring of a Christian flag on a public flagpole, the High Court unanimously ruled that “when government does not speak for itself, it may not exclude speech based on ‘religious viewpoint’” and doing so “constitutes impermissible viewpoint discrimination.”
Liberty Counsel stated, “The District does not ‘endorse’ the Church by treating it equally with other community sponsors. The Church has the right to become a community sponsor within the District’s Partners in Education sponsorship program, without giving up its religious identity or beliefs.”
The letter further noted that “organizations holding a religious viewpoint must be treated the same way all other community partners are treated.”
Liberty Counsel requested BCPS respond to its letter by May 19, 2024, but the district has not made any response to date.
On behalf of Cooper City Church, Liberty Counsel requests BCPS accomplish three things:
- Immediately restore the Church’s sponsorship signs for the 2024-25 school year, with any applicable charges pro-rated to reflect the time the signs were improperly removed from display.
- Observe all other aspects of the “Gold Sponsor” category package including, but not limited to, the website display and yearbook display of the Church’s information.
- Remove a “sectarian” prohibition in School Board Policy 6300 to prevent recurrence of similar discrimination based on religious viewpoint.
Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, “Broward County Public Schools must give the Cooper City Church equal treatment as it does the other community partners and sponsors of its public schools. A sign that simply lists a church’s name as a sponsor does not suggest the school endorses the church or a religion. The Courts have repeatedly confirmed that religious organizations have the right to equal treatment under the law.”
