RELIGIOUS CLUBS

Westside Community Board of Education vs. Mergens

Westside Community Board of Education vs. Mergens

Introduction

Education and learning is an important part of an individual's life. These factors play their immensely valuable role in the development of an individual and they also play their part in shaping the life of an individual. Education and opportunities to get education is the basic right of an individual. There are certain factors that give rise to the concept of inequality in the accessibility to educational opportunities. The aim of this paper is to talk about the case Westside Community Board of Education vs. Mergens, the context of education and the philosophy behind the law.

Discussion

Westside Community Board of Education vs. Mergens

The case started because Westside High School did not allow the students to form a religious group with the same meeting and privilege terms as other after school clubs of the school. The school refused the formation of the club as the club didn't have a faculty sponsor. The discussion of the administration was supported by the school board. After this, Mergens along with the other students sued the school on the basis of Equal Access Act. Mergens and other students alleged that the school has violated the act as it states that school must provide “equal access” to all the students who wants to express "religious, political, philosophical, or other content" message (Robinson, 2007). The decision was made in favor of the students on the appeal from an adverse ruling of District Court. The Supreme Court granted Westside certiorari.

The Equal Access Act states that the students groups or clubs that are non-curriculum and have special interest are allowed to organize in the high schools. This law was promoted by the groups of conservative Christians to permit them to start religious groups in the schools. This ...