SAN DIEGO - A church should have been permitted to post advertisements on a series of seminars dealing with school violence and other community issues on school bulletin boards, a federal judge ruled.

U.S. District Judge Jeffrey T. Miller said the San Diego Unified School District's policy that barred the Atonement Lutheran Church from posting such promotional materials was unconstitutional, the Washington Times reported.

"This is an important victory for our client and the Constitution," said Stuart J. Roth, senior counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice, which filed the suit on behalf of the church and its pastor, the Rev. James D. Jerpseth. "This is a case where the school district discriminated against the church by treating it differently than other community organizations."

The newspaper reported an attorney for the 133,000-student school district could not be reached for comment. A staff member in the communications office for the district said no decision has been made whether to appeal last week's decision.

The seminars had nonreligious titles such as "How to Spot a Troubled Kid," "Stopping the Violence" and "Be a Better Parent."

Judge Miller granted the ACLJ's motion for summary judgment with respect to posting materials on bulletin boards, the newspaper reported.

He wrote: "This policy would prohibit a religious group access to address a topic addressed by a secular group, even on a topic secular in nature and supportive of school educational goals. Such a policy cannot survive constitutional scrutiny."

The court has not yet ruled on the constitutionality of the district's policy prohibiting the distribution of advertisements about events sponsored by religious organizations, the newspaper reported.