Christian universities achieve significant victory for religious freedom as Attorney General refuses to enforce law.

Minnesota’s Attorney General Temporarily Agrees Not to Bar Religious Universities from State Tuition Program

In a significant victory for religious freedom, Minnesota’s Attorney General Keith Ellison has agreed not to prevent religious universities from requiring a statement of faith for the state’s tuition program, according to Becket Law.

Becket Law filed a lawsuit on behalf of parents Mark and Melinda Loe and two colleges after the state changed its Postsecondary Enrollment Options program, which prohibited state funding for universities that required a statement of faith. In response, Ellison agreed to a preliminary injunction that allows religious students to use the funding for the college of their choice while the lawsuit is ongoing.

The Loes expressed their satisfaction with the agreement, stating, “They should be able to pursue the same great opportunities as all other students in the state without politicians in St. Paul getting in the way.”

BREAKING: We sued and Minnesota backed down! Just weeks after passing a law that targeted religious schools that asked their students to sign a statement of faith, Minnesota agreed to a court order tying its hands from enforcing the law while our lawsuit is pending.

— Eric Baxter (@esbax) June 14, 2023

Background and Lawsuit

The Minnesota PSEO program allows high school students to earn college credit tuition-free. However, in May 2023, Governor Tim Walz passed a provision that rejected students looking to attend a college that required a statement of faith or based its admission process on certain criteria. Becket Law filed a lawsuit, arguing that the new rule was discriminatory and violated the First Amendment.

Becket Law also filed a similar lawsuit in Maine after the state changed its Human Rights Act to restrict religious schools from accessing state funding.

Diana Thomson, senior counsel at Becket, criticized the state’s attempt to “walk back” its “anti-religious law” and called for the court to strike down the ban permanently.

Neither Governor Walz, Becket Law, nor the Department of Education provided immediate comments on the matter.

The post Christian Universities Score Major Win for Religious Freedom After Dem AG Refuses to Enforce Law appeared first on The Western Journal.

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