Under President Donald Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos*, religious colleges may soon be able to breathe a little easier — and get more support from the government — as the U.S. Department of Education signaled on Wednesday plans to loosen federal regulations on faith-based universities.
A notice published Wednesday by the department states that various provisions of its rules regarding the eligibility of faith-based entities to obtain grants or to participate in state-administered programs “unnecessarily restrict participation by religious entities.”
“The Department plans to review and to amend or rescind such regulations in order to be consistent with current law and to reduce or eliminate unnecessary burdens and restrictions on religious entities and activities.”
The move is part of a large-scale deregulatory agenda for the Education Department, the New York Times reports.
“Various provisions of the department’s regulations regarding eligibility of faith-based entities and activities do not reflect the latest case law regarding religion or unnecessarily restrict religion,” Liz Hill, an Education Department spokeswoman, told the Times.
The Hill reports that “the move comes after a June Supreme Court decision that held states must provide aid to some religious groups in certain scenarios. Other members of the Trump administration have made similar calls to broaden faith-based allowances in government.”
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