A pastor called CLA with these two questions:  

1. Is it against the law to advertise church programs for students in a public school?  

2. Can notices of church programs be legally distributed to public school students?

Knowing that peer pressure affects teenagers in strong ways, the pastor wanted to hold workshops sponsored by his church to address this issue from a Biblical perspective. "We believe the solution to negative peer pressure is in the Gospel and a relationship with Jesus Christ," he said.

The pastor’s first attempt to invite public school students to his workshops had failed.  School officials did not believe they could legally distribute his invitations because the program was religious. The pastor remembered hearing something different from CLA and he remembered that CLA attorneys could advise him about this issue without charge. He called our 727-399-8300 number and asked the question, “May I invite local public school students to a workshop that will teach religious principles about peer pressure?”
 
CLA legal assistants took his phone call, and within moments he was speaking with an attorney. He soon found out that it was perfectly legal for his invitations to be distributed to students in the public school. Generally, if a school permits community groups to invite students to outside school activities, school officials cannot discriminate against religious organizations.
 
Armed with this helpful knowledge, he felt confident that school officials had made a mistake when they initially refused to distribute his invitations to students. The school’s attorney agreed with CLA’s analysis of the situation, and school officials changed their minds and distributed his invitations the next time he took them to the school office.  These public school teens now have an opportunity to address issues of peer pressure from a Biblical perspective because this pastor took the right steps to learn about his legal rights.
 
According to Attorney David Gibbs, “This pastor made the right decision by getting legal advice before going back to the school. CLA was able to help him know his rights and prevent any unnecessary trouble. We are extremely pleased with the result.”