Christian Good News Clubs Win Equal Access to Illinois Schools in $105K Settlement

October 29, 2026

An Illinois school district has been ordered to remove restrictions on Christian after-school clubs and pay more than $105,000 in legal fees, costs and damages after a federal court settlement was reached on Wednesday.

Christianity Daily reports that the settlement requires the Moline-Coal Valley School District to pay $105,351.25 and revise its policies to ensure that Good News Clubs receive the same access to school facilities as comparable nonreligious organizations, including the Boy Scouts and Girls on the Run.

A lawsuit filed in February by Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) alleged that district officials subjected its programs to restrictions not imposed on similar nonreligious organizations.

Mat Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, which represented CEF in the case, welcomed the outcome, saying, “This is a reasonable judgment. The First Amendment prohibits public schools from discriminating against Christian viewpoints regarding use of school facilities.”

According to Christianity Daily, the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois, Rock Island Division, accused the district of imposing unequal facility rental fees and limiting the organization’s ability to distribute informational materials and participate in school events.

The complaint stated: “Defendants’ sole justification for treating CEF less favorably than other similarly situated nonreligious organizations is one thing: CEF’s religious viewpoint. That is unconstitutional and unlawful.”

The dispute comes more than two decades after the U.S. Supreme Court established a significant precedent involving the same Christian organization.

In its 2001 decision in ‘Good News Club v. Milford Central School‘, the court ruled 6-3 that public schools allowing community groups to use their facilities after school hours cannot exclude Good News Clubs solely because their activities involve religious instruction.

Photo, top, Credit: Unsplash/Jonny Gios