Club rush: Changes in club constitution

Lia Yereslove

Beginning on Apr. 22, 2020, a court case ensued between the San Jose Unified School District (SJUSD) and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) club at Pioneer High School over student rights and free speech principles. The district believed that the FCA was acting discriminatorily towards the LGBTQ+ community and refused to officially recognize their club. This led the FCA club to sue the district, turning a high school disagreement into a long discrimination suit, a ruling of religious discrimination on the part of the district and eventually a semester-long postponement of clubs at SJUSD high schools.

Pioneer High School’s FCA branch was denied official recognition by SJUSD in 2019 In April 2020, the FCA filed a lawsuit against the school district. Elizabeth Sinclair and Charlotte Klarke, the plaintiffs and student leaders of the club, claimed that the district’s refusal to recognize the club was an act of discrimination and “violated their constitutional rights based on their religious beliefs,” according to the Mercury News.

The issue originally arose when Peter Glasser, a Pioneer High School teacher, posted a copy of the FCA’s Statement of Faith and Statement of Sexual Purity, which stated that marriage is an act occurring only between a man and a woman. The club also had rules dictating that LGBTQ+ students could not hold leadership positions, causing the district to revoke its recognition of the club, claiming the FCA broke the district’s nondiscriminatory policy—the rule that discrimination based on sex, race and religion will not be permitted.

A verdict in August 2022 by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled that SJUSD’s decision to refuse to certify the FCA club was an act of religious discrimination. U.S. District Judge Haywood Gilliam of Oakland argued that the school district pushed a reasonable policy that fostered equal participation without limiting freedom of expression or religion. However, Judge Kenneth Lee said in the 2-1 ruling that the discriminatory policies set by the district were selective, noting that “the district has not withdrawn recognition of Leland High’s Senior Women’s Club, whose members are all

SJUSD’s rules enacted to ensure inclusivity within clubs. Article 3.2 states, “Membership in this club and participation in any and all activities and programs of this club shall be open to all students and not restricted in any way other than what is specifically stated herein.”

While the policies were set in place for the school’s clubs, the initial situation created much controversy throughout the student body.