For the first time since Hawaii public schools resumed hosting after school programs following the COVID-19 pandemic, Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) has now been approved to start a new Good News Club in one of the state’s elementary schools after being repeatedly and unlawfully denied in other parts of the state. The approval comes after Liberty Counsel recently won a permanent injunction on behalf of CEF Hawaii against the Hawaii State Department of Education. The injunction requires that Hawaii school officials give CEF’s after-school Bible clubs equal access like other similarly-situated clubs on public school campuses throughout the state.
Last week, Kealakehe Elementary School on Hawaii’s Big Island agreed to host a Good News Club after granting CEF after-school access to its facilities. The Good News Club will have equal access at the school alongside other after-school groups, such as the Boys & Girls Club, A+ After School Programs, and others.
Prior to the pandemic, CEF Hawaii had active Good News Clubs in over a dozen schools on Oahu and other islands. However, schools restricted after-school programs during the pandemic. Once these programs were fully restored in 2022, the Hawaii State Department of Education, through four of its Superintendents and other officials, repeatedly denied CEF’s requests and appeals to restart its programs in six different elementary schools while allowing access for other similar groups. During the lawsuit, Hawaii’s Department of Education conceded that one school denied CEF Hawaii use of its facilities based on religion, while another school’s denial was due to a “misapplication” of school policies. The permanent injunction secured CEF protection for the Good News Clubs from viewpoint discrimination and requires Hawaii school officials to make timely responses regarding future facility-use applications submitted by CEF Hawaii.
CEF has also resubmitted a facility-use application to Kohala Elementary, one of the six schools who had previously denied a Good News Club. The school has until February 18, 2025 to make a timely response to the request according to the injunction’s mandated timeline for responses.
CEF Hawaii is a Christian non-profit organization and a subsidiary of Child Evangelism Fellowship Inc., an international non-profit worldwide children’s ministry. CEF Good News Clubs positively impact the lives of children and their families. Good News Clubs typically meet once per week, immediately after school, and are led by trained and vetted local community volunteers. The clubs provide religious and other teaching and activities to encourage learning, spiritual growth, and service to others, as well as social, emotional, character, and leadership development. Good News Clubs do not charge a fee and welcome children with written permission from parents. There are currently 3,041 Good News Clubs in public elementary schools across the United States, including several in Hawaii schools.
Liberty Counsel represents CEF nationally and has never lost a case involving Good News Clubs.
Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, “Child Evangelism Fellowship and its Good News Clubs have a right to use school facilities with other after-school programs. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that public schools cannot discriminate against Christian viewpoints regarding use of school facilities. Child Evangelism Fellowship gives children a safe space that offers moral and character development from a Christian viewpoint. Good News Clubs should be in every public elementary school.”
