A religious liberty organization, Christian schools, and school families are suing the state of Minnesota over a rule that prohibits select Christian colleges and universities from using a free college credit scheme, which a senior counsel labeled “disgraceful.”
According to a Becket Fund for Religious Liberty news release, the University of Northwestern, St. Paul, and Crown College, as well as their families, are “challenging a Minnesota law” that exempts universities from the state’s Post Secondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) program if they require “students to sign a statement of faith.”
Becket is a nonprofit organization dedicated to defending religious liberty, according to its website.
Becket is assisting the affected schools and families in their struggle, including bringing a federal lawsuit against Minnesota in 2023, according to the Loe v. Jett case information on Becket’s website.
When asked for a comment, Becket sent the news release.
“We raise our children to put their faith at the center of everything they do,” Minnesota parents Mark and Melinda Loe stated in a Becket news release.
“Unfortunately, Minnesota is depriving kids like ours of the opportunity to get a head start on college at schools that embrace their faith,” the family noted. “We hope the court will strike this law down and protect all religious students and the schools they want to attend.”
Minnesota’s PSEO program, established nearly 40 years ago, allows “high school juniors and seniors to earn college credit for free,” according to Becket’s news release.
“Students have been able to attend any eligible public or private school of their choice,” according to the announcement, thanks to the PSEO program.
However, in 2023, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz “signed a bill into law that amends the PSEO to exclude religious schools like Crown and Northwestern from participating because of the faith statement requirement for on-campus students,” according to Becket’s case filings.
According to the case specifics, the statements of faith simply inquire whether students “will embrace the schools’ religious beliefs for the purpose of upholding a strong Christian community on campus.”
When contacted twice for comment, neither Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Commissioner of Education Willie Jett, nor Jett’s assistant Marquetta Stokes answered.
“Minnesota promised not to enforce the law while the case is ongoing,” according to the case information.
Northwestern President Corbin Hoornbeek stated in Becket’s news release that “Minnesota wants to single out” the university for its “unique campus culture which integrates faith and learning.”
“We pray the court will recognize that and continue to allow us to help on-campus PSEO students flourish in their faith and education,” Hoornbeek told reporters.
Crown College President Andrew Denton stated in a news release that the college is “grateful to extend” the opportunity for biblically-integrated education “to young students who seek to join [Crown’s] Christian community through the PSEO program.”
“We pray that the court will continue to allow every student in Minnesota to use PSEO funds at the school that best meets their needs and matches their values,” Denton said the audience.
The Center Square contacted Northwestern’s senior vice president for media Jason Sharp, senior director of marketing Jennifer Clemens, and Crown College. Nobody reacted.
Eric Baxter, Becket’s vice president and senior counsel, stated that “politicians in St. Paul are slamming the door on thousands of high schoolers who want to get a head start on college simply because they’re religious.”
“That’s disgraceful: the state should be helping educate its students, not cutting them off from opportunities that will allow them to grow,” Baxter told the newspaper.
“We’re confident the court will strike down Minnesota’s ban for good,” Baxter told the crowd.
According to Becket in the case facts, “religious schools should be able to participate in publicly available programs without discrimination, and religious school students should be able to participate in these programs on equal footing as students who attend non-religious schools.”