School District Gets Boost in Defending Atheist Lawsuit

Chino, CA–A school district in Southern California has added legal muscle to its defense against a lawsuit that was filed by the Freedom From Religion Foundation.
 
The school board of the Chino Valley Unified School District voted unanimously to retain Pacific Justice Institute to lead the defense of the FFRF suit.  CVUSD agreed to pay PJI the nominal amount of $1.00, which is expected to save taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars in defense costs. 

The Wisconsin-based FFRF brought suit in November to challenge the school district’s invocation policy.  Even though the Supreme Court ruled last year in favor of a similar invocation policy in Town of Greece v. Galloway, the FFRF is apparently hoping it can limit the reach of that decision by targeting a school district.  The lawsuit also takes exception to comments by CVUSD board members who mention their faith.
 
The president of PJI, Brad Dacus, commented, “We are honored to defend the Chino Valley school board in its continuation of longstanding American traditions.  The FFRF has a track record of filing lawsuits that are not firmly grounded in existing law but rather try to change the law to conform to their philosophical views.  We look forward to this opportunity to defend our constitutional freedoms.” 

Pacific Justice Institute is a non-profit legal organization dedicated to defending religious, parental, and other constitutional rights.