St. Michael-Albertville School District Reacts as Anti-Abortion Student Group Files Lawsuit

 St. Michael-Albertville School District administrators were taken by surprise Friday morning when they received word that the national attorneys from Alliance Defense Fund had helped file a lawsuit against the district in Federal Court. The suit, which was filed April 7, alleges that the school district denied a pro-life student group, All Life is Valuable (ALIV), permission to meet in school facilities.  

The suit alleges that the group was not given equal access because it doesn’t “support the student body as a whole.” The suit also alleges that the school denied access to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, a group district officials say has met on school grounds in the past.

School district assistant superintendent/superintendent-elect Dr. Jim Behle said the student group initially approached STMA high school principal Dale Carlson in January, requesting permission to meet in the school and inquiring about the process of starting the group. Behle said Carlson did some checking and later got back to the student who inquired, telling him the group could meet before and after school just as their other student-initiated groups could do. The student had been hoping to get the group running by the end of the school year.

According to the complaint: “Plaintiffs ALIV Club and A.Z. [a minor] bring this suit because their pro-life student club, the ALIV (All Life is Valuable) Club, was not approved to become an officially recognized club. District officials denied the Club because it allegedly ‘does not support the student body as a whole.’ Apparently the Diversity club, the Environmental club, and the Anime club (among others), however, are deemed to ‘support the student body as a whole’ as they were all permitted to become officially recognized clubs.

“Officially recognized clubs receive certain benefits and privileges including meeting during a club period, making announcements, engaging in fundraising, among other benefits. The Defendant District has implemented policies and practices which permit official recognition of clubs that are both curriculum related and non-curriculum related.”

Behle said no students, parents, community members or representatives from the Alliance Defense Group ever came to district officials with this complaint, making the lawsuit “quite a surprise.”

“Obviously they believed, and we’re kind of confused by this, that for some reason this group was going to be denied,” Behle said, adding that the inquiring student had been spoken with on Friday to emphasize their initial message that the group was allowed to meet at the school.

“There’s obviously some confusion someplace by the national organization [Alliance Defense Fund] that filed this,” he added.

Representing the group is attorney Charles Shreffler, a Hopkins attorney who has does some pro bono work for this group. Though media reports Friday evening stated the group was standing by their allegations, Behle told St. Michael Patch that Shreffler had in fact apologized to the school district, saying he had not known all the facts in the case. Behle said the district would continue to pursue to have the case dismissed.

However, The Alliance Defense Fund might be looking for a change of district policy, as it has with past lawsuits against Minnesota school districts. The group supported a lawsuit against the Crosby-Ironton School District when students were not allowed to pass out fliers for a prayer gathering. It also sued the University of Minnesota in 2003.

“The bottom line is, we have not denied access,” Behle said. “The student group can meet in our school; basically, what the lawsuit wants us to do, we have already done. There’s a lot of misinformation being alleged.”