EDUCATION: An exploration of ideas, issues and trends in education : IN BRIEF : Attempt to Ban Boy Scout Recruiting in Schools Rejected

An atheist mother lost her two-year legal battle to ban the Boy Scouts of America from recruiting in Portland schools.

Multnomah County Circuit Judge Joseph F. Ceniceros ruled that the Boy Scouts have a right to be in public schools because they are not primarily a religious organization even though members are required to affirm a belief in God.

The case is being watched nationally because it threatens the close ties between the Scouts and public schools.

“I conclude that the religious aspect of Scouting is a very small part of its programs,” Ceniceros said in his ruling. “I also conclude that under any criteria or test that I am aware of the Boy Scouts are not a religious organization.”

The American Civil Liberties Union, which represented the mother, Nancy Powell, plans to appeal. She contends that the Boy Scouts’ recruiting in public schools violates the separation of church and state in the Oregon Constitution.