A local satanic group wants to start its after-school program at a Powder Springs elementary school on Halloween.
The effort to start the group at Still Elementary School is part of a campaign by The Satanic Temple to bring "After School Satan Clubs" to schools throughout the United States.
The Cobb County School District's Facilities Use Department is still reviewing the application, schools spokeswoman Donna Lowry said when asked about the status Wednesday.
The local Satanic Temple chapter, based in Little Five Points, applied Sept. 23 but announced its plan at the start of classes in Georgia's second-largest school district.
The group is listed as a nonprofit and wants the club to meet one Monday a month after school until about 4 p.m. through May 5. With that schedule, there would be eight meetings this school year, if approved. The group plans to have four adult staff members and is expecting no more than 16 students participating.
The permission slip parents would have to fill out to allow their children to join the After School Satan Club says volunteers have been "vetted by the Executive Ministry for professionalism, social responsibility, superior communication skills and lack of criminal history."
In the application with the school district, Atlanta's Satanic Temple leader Fred Mephisto said the group activities will include a literature lesson, creative learning activities, science lesson, puzzle-solving and art project.
Students will receive a membership card, and a "healthy snack."
The clubs are based upon a uniform syllabus that emphasizes a scientific, rationalist, non-superstitious world view, according to the group's website.
The website goes on to explains that the program isn't about Satan, but showing students an alternative to what the group says is a religious monopoly on after-school care by the Good News Club, which is described as "a ministry of Child Evangelism Fellowship."
Mephisto has said in the past that the group's inclusion at the school is a constitutional issue.
He was not immediately available for comment Thursday.
After School Satan Club Permission Slip on Scribd
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