SAN MARCOS, Calif. – Students at San Marcos Middle School were working their tails off to raise money to provide 14,000 meals for children starving in Tanzania, but the American Civil Liberties Union shut them down.

The middle schoolers were raising money through a group called Friends and Family Community Connection, which works with the Christian organization Kids Around the World. But David Loy, legal director for the ACLU’s San Diego chapter, contacted the district demanding they find another charity because of Kids Around the World’s religious affiliation, Fox 5 reports.

“I think it’s wonderful work, personally, but California law is very clear that if it is a religious group — if it has a religious mission, in any part of its mission — then a public school cannot be supporting that financially or otherwise,” Loy told the news site.

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The problem stemmed from the school’s website, which touted its partnership with Kids Around the World.

School officials told Fox in a statement Tuesday that it’s actually partnering directly with Friends and Family Community Connection, and updated the school website last week to reflect that, Fox reports.

“This is a humanitarian effort with no sectarian purpose. FFCC is assisted by Kids Around the World, which the ACLU has claimed is a religious organization,” the statement read.

“The school planned to give all funds raised to FFCC.”

The distinction apparently doesn’t matter to the ACLU.

“I want the school to get on the right side of the line,” said Loy, who sent a letter to the district last month about his qualms. “I want the school to comply with the California constitution.”

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Yesterday, Loy got what he wanted.

The San Diego Union-Tribune reports school officials are pulling out of their fundraising effort and will refocus on a different, yet-to-be-determined charity.

“In a prepared statement issued Wednesday, (Tiffany) Campbell, the principal, said she would end ties with the two groups and pick another group to help in the school’s fundraising effort,” according to the news site.

“The district advised the ACLU on Wednesday that Campbell and students in the school’s Associated Student Body will select and donate to a different nonprofit organization to ‘continue their commendable and humanitarian efforts.’”

San Marcos Unified School District spokeswoman Lucia Roybal explained the decision.

“It’s a bit of a gray area. We want to make sure we are in compliance with California laws, so we’d rather be safe than sorry,” she told the Union-Tribune.

“They were just trying to do something good for the kids in Tanzania.”