Child Evangelism Fellowship NorCal, Inc. v. Oakland Unified School District Board of Education

District Court, N.D. California·Decided August 15, 2025·No. 4:24-cv-08945·Unknown

Opinion

CHILD EVANGELISM FELLOWSHIP Case No. 24-cv-08945-HSG NORCAL, INC., ORDER GRANTING MOTION FOR Plaintiff, PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION v. Re: Dkt. No. 2 OAKLAND UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD OF EDUCATION, et al., Defendants. Pending before the Court is the motion for preliminary injunction filed by Plaintiff Child Evangelism Fellowship of NorCal, Inc. (“Plaintiff” or “CEF”). Dkt. No. 2. The Court held a hearing on the motion and requested supplemental briefing on the language of the proposed injunction. For the reasons detailed below, the Court GRANTS the motion for preliminary injunction. Plaintiff CEF is a Christian nonprofit organization, and a subsidiary of Child Evangelism Fellowship, Inc., an international non-profit children’s ministry. See Dkt. No. 1 (“Compl.”) at ¶¶ 11, 14. Plaintiff alleges that for approximately two years it has attempted to obtain space at public schools in the Oakland Unified School District (“OUSD”) to host its Good News Club meetings. See id. at ¶¶ 1, 41. The Good News Club meetings are Christian, afterschool enrichment programs that operate in elementary and middle schools and are open to all children free of charge. See id. at ¶¶ 14–15, 17. Plaintiff explains that its Good News Clubs “provid[e] religious and other teaching and activities to encourage learning, spiritual growth, and service to Plaintiff alleges that OUSD officials have either denied its requests for afterschool space—or failed to respond at all—because of Plaintiff’s religious viewpoint. See id. at ¶¶ 1–2, 41–117, 126. Plaintiff further argues that its treatment is due to limitations with OUSD’s policies, both as written and as applied. Specifically, Plaintiff contends that OUSD’s policies grant officials unfettered discretion in deciding which organizations will be permitted access to OUSD facilities and provide no deadline by which officials must grant or deny an organization’s facility use request. See id. at ¶¶ 147–48, 164, 175, 190. In its verified complaint, Plaintiff brings claims against OUSD and the OUSD Superintendent in her official capacity for violations of the Free Speech Clause, Free Exercise Clause, and Establishment Clause of the First Amendment; the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment; and the California Civic Center Act, Cal. Educ. Code § 38134.1 See id. at ¶¶ 139–192. Plaintiff also filed a motion for preliminary injunction to require OUSD to provide CEF access to OUSD facilities to conduct after school programs equal to the access that the District provides to similarly situated nonreligious organizations. Dkt. No. 2. A plaintiff seeking preliminary relief must establish that: (1) it is likely to succeed on the merits; (2) it is likely to suffer irreparable harm in the absence of preliminary relief; (3) the balance of equities tips in its favor; and (4) an injunction is in the public interest. Winter v. Nat. Res. Def. Council, 555 U.S. 7, 20 (2008). Preliminary relief is “an extraordinary remedy that may only be awarded upon a clear showing that the plaintiff is entitled to such relief.” Id. at 22. A court must find that “a certain threshold showing” is made on each of the four required elements. Leiva-Perez v. Holder, 640 F.3d 962, 966 (9th Cir. 2011). Under the Ninth Circuit’s sliding scale approach, a preliminary injunction may issue if there are “serious questions going to the merits” if “a hardship balance [also] tips sharply towards the [movant],” and “so long as the

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Child Evangelism Fellowship NorCal, Inc. v. Oakland Unified School District Board of Education, (N.D. Cal. 2025).

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