SAN DIEGO  A settlement was announced in a two-year-old lawsuit that clears the way for a church to distribute materials inside the San Diego Unified School District, according the American Center for Law and Justice.
ACLJ, an international public interest law firm, said in a news release the settlement guarantees the church will no longer face discrimination. It brings to an end litigation that included a finding by a federal court that the district did discriminate by repeatedly refusing to permit the church to advertise parenting and school violence seminars in schools.
"We're pleased that this case has been completely resolved and that the church will receive the same treatment afforded to other community organizations," said Stuart J. Roth, senior council for the ACLJ, which represented Atonement Lutheran Church.
"A federal court had already cleared the way for the church to post flyers at the schools notifying students and parents about programs beneficial to the community," Roth said in the release. "The only remaining issue involved the distribution of the flyers and with this settlement agreement now in place, our client will enjoy the same constitutional protections given to other community groups."
Roth called the settlement an important victory for the equal treatment of religious organizations.
The U.S. District Court in San Diego approved the settlement and ordered the school district will pay $170,000 to ACLJ for legal fees.
