Albany, OR - After Liberty Counsel issued a demand letter and threatened legal action, the Greater Albany School District gave Child Evangelism Fellowship of Linn County (CEF) permission to distribute flyers about its after-school Good New Clubs and off-campus "Release Time" religious instruction. Liberty Counsel represents CEF and its director, Tony Villanueva.

In response to Liberty Counsel's August 13th demand letter, the district has agreed to revise its materials distribution policy to conform to the First Amendment. The district's original policy specifically prohibited distribution of "religious materials or materials promoting religious meetings." That policy was a direct violation of the United States Constitution, because it did not provide equal treatment for the Christian viewpoint and favored secular programs like the Boy Scouts, by allowing those groups to give students information and permission slips to take home. Attendance in after-school programs is low if parents do not receive notice of the opportunities.

Good News Clubs are designed for elementary age children and are held in public schools after school and in local churches near schools during "Release Time." Oregon law requires public schools to accommodate parental requests for Release Time, so students can go to a nearby, off-campus location for private religious instruction. Trained CEF leaders provide religious instruction by teaching good citizenship and moral values to students from a biblical viewpoint.

Mathew D. Staver, Founder of Liberty Counsel and Dean of Liberty University School of Law, commented: "Release Time should be commonplace, since the Supreme Court ruled it to be constitutional almost fifty years ago. Child Evangelism Fellowship's Good News Clubs have a proven Bible-based curriculum for Release Time programs. The fact that Release Time religious instruction is not available to every student in America is not the fault of the Supreme Court - it's due to a lack of vision from the private religious sector."