School district reverses decision to deny teen's Christian club at New York public high school

A New York teen who was originally denied a Christian club at her high school has received an outpouring of support after she fought for her right to create the club.

In 2019, Daniela Barca proposed a Christian club for students at Ketcham High School in Wappingers Falls, New York. Barca worked with teachers to submit the required application, but weeks later, school officials told her they lost it, according to First Liberty, a legal organization that represents cases involving religious freedom.

First Liberty began representing Barca after school officials dragged out the application process and then denied permission for the club. The principal said the school could not support a religious club like it does secular student clubs, according to First Liberty. 

Barca appealed the decision, but it was upheld by the assistant superintendent for Wappingers Central School District, who said an official club could not be limited to the Christian faith.

First Liberty sent a letter to the school district arguing that their denial of Barca's religious club violated the Equal Access Act of 1984, which requires schools to provide equal access to extracurricular activities, including religious clubs.

The district soon decided to reverse the decision. "The school district decided that it didn't have to vote," Keisha Russell, counsel for First Liberty Institute, told CBS News via email. "Daniela was allowed to have her first meeting in January and had the second in mid-February."

"I am so happy that school officials are going to allow us to start the club at school so we can support each other in our beliefs," Barca said in a statement on the First Liberty website.

"We are grateful to Wappingers Central school district officials for acting swiftly to ensure that religious students can freely exercise their right to meet together at school," Russell said in the statement. "Daniela is thrilled she'll be allowed to form a club so those who share her faith can express who they are and encourage each other."

CBS News has reached out to the superintendent and assistant superintendent for Wappingers Central School District, as well as the principal of Ketchum High School, and is awaiting response. 

Barca gained attention again this week after she received an outpouring of support from students across the country. Students Standing Strong (S3), an organization with local student-run religious clubs in public schools across the U.S., posted that members of S3 clubs wrote letters to Barca after hearing about her story through First Liberty.

A representative for S3 said Barca wasn't trying to start a S3 chapter at her high school, but her own Bible club. The organization posted a photo of Barca, surrounded by dozens of letters she received, on their Facebook page. 

The widespread attention online lead to a TV interview on "Fox & Friends."