On 26 September 2001, the Chino Valley School District, which is approximately 30 miles east of Los Angeles, signed a negotiated agreement with the duly authorized union representing the certified employees, the Associated Chino Teachers (ACT). The agreement provided that every member of the represented unit would become either a member of the ACT or an agency fee payer. The agency fee is that portion of the membership dues that is used for representation. On 15 August 2002, Barbara Madsen, a Chino Valley teacher who had applied for and received "religious objector" status, wrote a letter to the president of the ACT requesting to pay the reduced, not the full, agency fee to a charity of her choice. Her request was denied and Madsen filed suit in California Superior Court, claiming violations of Title VII, the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause, and the First Amendment's establishment clause in addition to parallel state claims. This article examines that court case. (Contains 5 notes.)