Pope by Pope v. East Brunswick Bd. of Educ

In Pope by Pope v. East Brunswick Bd. of Educ. (3d Cir. 1993) 12 F.3d 1244, on a motion for summary judgment, a student Bible group sought access pursuant to the Act by establishing that several school-recognized student clubs, including the Key Club, were noncurriculum related. At the outset the court acknowledged that under Mergens the "Act should be construed broadly in order to effectuate the congressional purpose" of prohibiting discrimination against student religious groups. (Id. at p. 1248.) The Court went on to say, "To that end, the existence of a limited open forum, and concomitantly the applicability of the Act itself, 'is triggered by what a school does, not by what it says.' " (Ibid.) With respect to the Key Club, the defendant adduced evidence to the effect that the "bulk of the Key Club's activities involve a variety of student-initiated fund-raising activities, such as volleyball marathons, bowl-a-thons, game nights, and book, food and toy drives. The proceeds from these activities are donated to local charities." (Id. at p. 1252.) The Court noted that the only provision in the FEAA dealing with student initiation is 20 United States Code section 4071(c)(1), which merely requires that the on-campus meetings of student groups invoking the Act must be student initiated. The court then declared, "Congress must be presumed to know the meaning of the words and phrases it uses in drafting statutes. When it refers to student initiation in one section of the Act but omits it in another, the statute should normally be construed to give effect to the distinction Congress makes thereby." (Pope by Pope v. East Brunswick Bd. of Educ., supra, 12 F.3d at p. 1249.)