PA School's 'Satan Club' Lawsuit Settled For $200K, ACLU Says

HELLERTOWN, PA — The Satanic Temple and a Lehigh Valley school district have settled a First Amendment lawsuit accusing the district of improperly blocking an After School Satan Club from meeting on school grounds.

The American Civil Liberties Union announced the $200,000 settlement Thursday, calling it "a victory for free speech and religious liberty."

"We are pleased that this matter has been resolved and that the school district has agreed to stop all discrimination against us," June Everett, director of The Satanic Temple's after-school programming, said in a statement. "It's for (the kids who attended) that we took on this legal fight in the first place, and we won't hesitate to do so again if other school districts continue to enact discriminatory policies."

The lawsuit against the Saucon Valley School District centered around the After School Satan Club at the district's middle school, which school officials approved. It then quickly banned from using district facilities in February.

The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Pennsylvania and Dechert LLP filed the lawsuit in federal court on March 30 on behalf of The Satanic Temple. The plaintiffs claimed the district violated students' First Amendment rights by banning the club from using school facilities for the rest of the school year.

The district rescinded the club's permission to meet at the middle school on Feb. 24, according to court documents, eight days after it approved The Satanic Temple's application to use district facilities – namely, a room in the school.

The district allowed a Christian organization called the Good News Club to meet on school grounds, the plaintiffs claimed, and accused the district of discriminating against the club and The Satanic Temple.

In response, school officials claimed, in part, that the After School Satan Club did not do enough to distance itself from the school.

The settlement came six months after a federal judge ordered the school district to allow the club to meet at the middle school. The judge ruled the district had likely violated the First Amendment when it prevented students and families from gathering on school grounds, the ACLU said.

Under the settlement, the Saucon Valley School District must give the After School Satan Club the same access to school facilities that other comparable organizations receive, according to the ACLU.

The agreement also prohibits the district from retaliating against The Satanic Temple, the club, its volunteers and its based on "their viewpoint or the exercise of their First Amendment rights."

The $200,000 included in the settlement will cover attorney fees, the ACLU said.