A federal court has sided with a Christian student who challenged his school’s rules that he could not preach on the campus without prior approval of the administration.

The ruling says that the outdoor areas of the Virginia Community College System as “venues for free expression” and that the school is prohibited from enforcing “speech zones” which would be the only places students could express their views.

The school system has announced they are going to comply with the ruling and change their rules.

“Colleges should support, not censor, student speech,” Alliance Defending Freedom lawyer Travis Barham said.  “We comment the Virginia Community College System for revising its speech policy to align with what a marketplace of ideas should be.”

The previous policy said that no student could make public speeches on campus except in designated areas, and only if they were members of student groups approved by the school and had their message cleared four days in advance.  Christian Parks filed suit after he was twice prevented from preaching last fall in the school’s public courtyard.

Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring had decided not to defend the policy in court.