United States Congress (August 11, 1984) by a Senate vote of 88-11 and a House vote of 337-77, voted the Equal Access Act into law. The Supreme Court upheld it by a vote of 8-1 in the Westside Community Schools v. Mergens case in 1990. Section 4071 (20 U.S.C. 4071-74) explains that denial of equal access is prohibited:
<Sec. 4071. (a) It shall be unlawful for any public secondary school which receives Federal financial assistance and which has a limited open forum to deny equal access or a fair opportunity to, or discriminate against, any students who wish to conduct a meeting within that limited open forum on the basis of the religious, political, philosophical, or other content of the speech at such meeting.> 1984US002
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American Quotations by William J. Federer, 2024, All Rights Reserved, Permission granted to use with acknowledgement.
1984US002. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). United States Congress, August 11, 1984, the Equal Access Act became law. (20 U.S.C. sections 4071-74). The Equal Access Act and the Public Schools-Questions and Answers (available from the Christian Legal Society, P.O. Box 1492, Merrifield, Va. 22116.), pp. 1, 3.