Memphis Shelby County Schools will pay more than $15,000 to settle a suit with The Satanic Temple over what the group calls “serious First Amendment violations.”
The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) filed the lawsuit in March against the Shelby County Board of Education on behalf of The Satanic Temple over what the club said were discriminatory practices.
In November, the group sought to bring its After School Satan Club to Chimneyrock Elementary School.. The program is “not interested in converting children to Satanism” but only to focus on “free inquiry and rationalism,” the group said. The Satanic Temple says it “does not worship or believe in the existence of Satan” and will “only open a club if other religious groups are operating on campus.”
The Satanic Temple said the board rents space to another group for the Christian Good News Club. That club is run by Child Evangelism Fellowship, “a Bible-centered organization composed of born-again believers whose purpose is to evangelize boys and girls with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and to establish (disciple) them in the Word of God and in a local church for Christian living…”
The After School Satan Club was allowed to meet at Chimneyrock on January 10th after what it described as a laborious process involving attempts to thwart its efforts. The group then submitted four new rental requests for monthly meetings at the school.
The school board assessed a “special security fee” of $2,045.60 on the Satanic Temple for “additional security.” It also levied a $250 fee for field lights. The Christian Good News Club were not charged any of these fees, according to Satanic Temple. But Satanic Temple paid the fees anyway. These fees are the crux of the FFRF lawsuit.
”The district’s discriminatory and illegal behavior left The Satanic Temple and FFRF with no choice but to sue,” the group said in a statement Friday. “The lawsuit sought fair treatment. The Temple didn’t want special privileges, just to be treated the same as all other organizations renting from the district. The lawsuit asked the court to order the district to approve The Satanic Temple’s reservation requests, treat the Temple fairly, and refund it the discriminatory fees the district forced it to pay.”
The board settled the lawsuit this week. MSCS will pay $14,845 in attorney fees and costs to the FFRF and its counsel. The board will also pay $1 for nominal damages to The Satanic Temple and $196.71 for various fees previously paid by the Temple in connection with rental reservations that had not yet been refunded.
MSCS also agreed not to discriminate against the organization with regard to its requests to rent and use school board property at Chimneyrock Elementary School. The Temple will be subject to the same rules and requirements as other nonprofit organizations looking to rent or use the school’s facilities. Also, the school board’s administration has promised not to hold any press conference with regard to the Temple’s lawful rental or use of school property.
The controversy gained national attention in December when the MSCS officials held a press conference in which school board members, administrators, and other leaders were surrounded by clergy members. They expressed “hostility” toward The Satanic Temple and ”validated community members’ hostility” toward the After School Satan Club’s then upcoming first meeting at Chimneyrock Elementary, the group said.
”We’re glad the district has mutually resolved this case and agreed to treat The Satanic Temple’s club fairly going forward,” said Patrick Elliott, FFRF’s legal director. “This settlement should send a message to public schools that the First Amendment applies to all organizations, including minority groups.”
