Religious schools can't be barred from credit program over faith statements, judge rules

[Michie]

A federal judge has struck down restrictions preventing the participation of faith-based colleges in a dual enrollment program in Minnesota as unconstitutional, allowing high school students to receive college credit at such institutions of higher education for work completed in high school.

In a ruling Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Nancy Brasel sided with Minnesota parents seeking to allow their children to obtain postsecondary education credits at faith-based institutions of higher education as well as Christian colleges in the state.


The lawsuit challenged amendments to the decades-old law establishing the Postsecondary Enrollment Options program, passed in 2023, clarifying that eligible institutions "must not require a faith statement from a secondary student seeking to enroll in a postsecondary course under this section during the application process."

The amendments also prohibit schools from basing "any part of the admission decision on a student's race, creed, ethnicity, disability, gender, or sexual orientation or religious beliefs or affiliations."

Continued below.

Religious schools can't be barred from credit program over faith statements, judge rules

A federal judge has struck down restrictions preventing the participation of faith-based colleges in a dual enrollment program in Minnesota as unconstitutional, allowing high school students to

www.christianpost.com

 

[PloverWing]

As long as the high school students have the freedom to choose a secular college/university for their dual enrollment, it seems fine (legally) to include religious colleges in the program. The chief problem would be requiring students to receive religious education (establishment of religion), and it doesn't look like that's happening here.