Bible Group Sues Schools Over Fees
A federal lawsuit filed Wednesday accuses the Glendale Unified School District of discriminating against a Bible study group by charging it fees to use school facilities while other organizations are allowed to use them for free.
Virgina-based American Center for Law and Justice filed the suit on behalf of Glendale resident Dolores Ditty, a volunteer with Child Evangelism Fellowship, a local Christian group.
According to the suit, the group was charged $41 last November to use school facilities to hold Bible study meetings for local students. Other community groups, such as the Kiwanis Club and the Boy Scouts, were not charged a fee, the suit says.
“To use a common civil rights term, they were told that they could get on the bus, but had to sit in the back,” said Kevin Theriot, the attorney representing Ditty.
But Glendale Unified officials said the group was charged the same as other community organizations.
“They were charged the base fee of room rental and custodial fees as other organizations like the Boy Scouts are charged,” said Stephen Hodgson, assistant superintendent of business services.
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