A Memphis, Tennessee school board has agreed to pay $15,000 in a settlement with The Satanic Temple following a months-long dispute that began in March.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) filed the lawsuit on behalf of the Satanic Temple in March, claiming “serious First Amendment violations” after the school district attempted to stop the Satanic Temple’s efforts to establish the After-School Satan Club at Chimneyrock Elementary School in Cordova. According to a press release from the FFRF, the club attempted to rent the elementary school but encountered numerous problems with the school district, including more than $2,000 in additional security fees, canceled reservations, and other challenges that the institutions such as Good News Club and an Evangelical organization renting the elementary property, had never faced.
The FFRF closed the lawsuit on Tuesday following the agreement of the Shelby County Board of Education to settle.
“The board will pay over $15,000 to resolve the suit. That includes $14,845 in attorneys’ fees and costs to FFRF and cooperating counsel,” the press release said. “The board will also pay one dollar for nominal damages to The Satanic Temple and $196.71 for various fees previously paid by the Temple in connection with rental reservations that had not yet been refunded.”
Annie Laurie Gaylor, FFRF Co-founder and Co-president, told the media that FFRF was pleased with the settlement.
“We are very pleased that justice has prevailed in this case,” she said. “It was a case we shouldn’t have even had to file. We hope this will send a pretty clear message to school districts around the country that they cannot privilege the Good News Club and discriminate against other groups with different views.”
According to the Daily Memphian, children who attend the After-School Satan Club participate in science and nature-related activities.
The press release stated that the school board decided “not to discriminate against” the Satanic Temple’s rental requests.
“The Temple will be subject to the same rules and requirements as other nonprofit organizations seeking to rent or use the school’s facilities,” the press release said. “In addition, the school board’s administration has promised not to hold any press conference with regard to the Temple’s lawful rental or use of school property.”
Last December, the district conducted a press conference during which school leaders “expressed their hostility toward the Satanic Temple,” and the Satanic Temple faced many challenges in using the rented places on January 10.
