Story at a glance
- A federal appeals court on Monday ruled that the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) must be recognized by the San Jose Unified School District as an official student group.
- The school district revoked the organization’s recognition in 2020 over concerns that statements of faith and “sexual purity” required to be signed by student leaders violated the district’s nondiscrimination policy.
- FCA members may only hold leadership positions if they certify their belief of a number of Christian values, including that marriage is a union between one man and one woman.
A federal appeals court on Monday ruled that a Northern California school district must officially recognize a religious student group that requires its leaders to abide by a statement of faith and an interpretation of “sexual purity” that includes an understanding of marriage as a union only between one man and one woman.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit on Monday in a 2-1 decision said the San Jose Unified School District likely violated the constitutional rights of three chapters of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) when it revoked the groups’ recognition as an official club in 2020.
Months earlier in 2019, a teacher at one of the district’s high schools raised concerns about the group after discovering that its student leaders were made to sign a statement certifying that they believed sexual relationships should exist only between married, heterosexual couples.
The teacher argued in messages sent to the school’s principal that the group’s views infringe on the rights of LGBTQ+ students, faculty and community members to “feel safe and enfranchised on their own campus,” according to court documents.
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FCA leaders are also required to believe that an individual’s gender identity is assigned by God at birth.
The San Jose Unified School District subsequently revoked the FCA’s Associated Student Body (ASB) recognition, concluding that the group’s positions on sex and gender violate the district’s nondiscrimination policy.
Only organizations with ASB recognition are included in school yearbooks, provided an official faculty advisor and given priority access to on-campus meeting spaces.
All students regardless of religion or any other characteristic are welcome to become FCA members and participate in FCA events, according to court documents, but members who want to serve in a leadership role must personally affirm the group’s “Statement of Faith” and abide by its standard of “sexual purity.”
“The Bible teaches that the appropriate place for sexual expression is in the context of a marriage relationship,” the FCA’s “Sexual Purity Statement” reads. “The biblical description of marriage is one man and one woman in a lifelong commitment.”
Following the chapters’ de-recognition, the FCA sued the San Jose Unified School District for religious discrimination, seeking a preliminary injunction that would temporarily prevent the district from revoking its ASB status.
On Monday, the appellate court ordered that the FCA be reinstated as an official club for the current school year while litigation continues in the lower district court.
Judge Kenneth Kiyul Lee, a Trump appointee, wrote for the majority that the case has pitted “two competing values that we cherish as a nation: the principle of nondiscrimination on the one hand, and the First Amendment’s protection of free exercise of religion and free speech on the other hand.”
However, Lee argued, the school district “cannot – and does not – advance its interest in non-discrimination by discriminating.”
According to Lee, the school district did not apply its nondiscrimination policy equally when it revoked recognition from the FCA, and student groups like the Senior Women Club remain recognized despite excluding male students by design.
“The club’s constitution limits membership based on gender identity,” Lee wrote. “Even though the Senior Women Club explicitly stated its intention to exclude males from membership … the School District still granted it ASB recognition. This alone shows selective enforcement.”
The San Jose Unified School District has said it is reviewing the court’s opinion and will determine its next steps “as soon as possible,” the Los Angeles Times reported.
It said the most important consideration will be how to continue implementation of its nondiscrimination policies.
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