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Colleges argue Minnesota’s law excluding faith-based schools from dual enrollment programs violates religious freedoms

An attorney with the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, representing two Christian colleges in Minnesota, expressed optimism about their case challenging a state law they claim infringes upon their rights as religious institutions after a December hearing.

The law prevents Crown College and the University of Northwestern, St. Paul from participating in taxpayer-funded high school dual enrollment programs if they require students to sign statements of faith.

“The Supreme Court has ruled three times in the last seven years that, when the government makes funds available to the public generally, you can’t exclude participants based on their religion. That’s exactly what the Minnesota Department of Education has done here,” Attorney Eric Baxter told The College Fix.

Minnesota’s Postsecondary Enrollment Options program allows 10th to 12th-grade students to take college courses and obtain credit tuition-free. Colleges participating in the program are reimbursed for the cost of teaching those students.

However, Crown College and the University of Northwestern, St. Paul cannot use PSEO funds, as they require a faith statement from students.

Baxter told The Fix, “The parties made their final arguments in their summary judgment briefings, which were finished in early November.”

“On December 9th, we had oral arguments in front of the judge. She then took the arguments under advisement and said that she would be working on writing a final opinion,” he said.

Since then, the judge has asked the parties for additional briefing. “The Minnesota Department of Education will file additional briefs on January 17, 2025, and the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty has until January 31 to respond,” Baxter said.

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“It typically takes 4-6 months for a judge to rule,” he said, adding that he expects the ruling to “come out sometime this summer.”

Baxter confirmed that the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty will appeal the decision should the judge uphold the law.

The law in question was part of a “sweeping education bill that boosted public spending for schools by nearly $2.3 billion,” according to the Minnesota Reformer.

It states that, “An eligible institution must not require a faith statement from a secondary student seeking to enroll in a postsecondary course under this section during the application process or base any part of the admission decision on a student’s race, creed, ethnicity, disability, gender, or sexual orientation or religious beliefs or affiliations.”

The Becket Fund filed the lawsuit in May 2023 against the Minnesota Department of Education on behalf of the schools and several parents who wish to use PSEO funds for their children.

Two of the parents, Mark and Melinda Loe, stated in a news release, “We raise our children to put their faith at the center of everything they do. Unfortunately, Minnesota is depriving kids like ours of the opportunity to get a head start on college at schools that embrace their faith.”

“We hope the court will strike this law down and protect all religious students and the schools they want to attend,” they stated.

The College Fix reached out to both Crown College and the University of Northwestern with questions regarding their statement of faith requirements and their expectations for the case. Both schools deferred all lawsuit-related questions to the Becket Fund.

The Fix also contacted the Minnesota Department of Education several times over the past three weeks with questions about the purpose of the law and its implications for religious liberty. The MDE has so far not responded.

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IMAGE: Crown College/Youtube

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