The Becket legal nonprofit has supported religious schools and families for more than a year now suing Minnesota to stop discrimination against high school students who seek to gain college credits from universities that require an attendee to sign a statement of faith
Parents and representatives from the University of Northwestern-St. Paul and Crown College appeared in court on Monday for proceedings associated with Loe v. Jett. They claim that the state’s Post Secondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) program discriminates against those who seek a religious education.
“We raise our children to put their faith at the center of everything they do,” said plaintiffs Mark and Melinda Loe in a statement.
“Unfortunately, Minnesota is depriving kids like ours of the opportunity to get a head start on college at schools that embrace their faith,” they continued. “We hope the court will strike this law down and protect all religious students and the schools they want to attend.”
Corbin Hoornbeek, president at the University of Northwestern-St. Paul, said the school sought to offer “a Christ-centered education” but the state “wants to single out our university because of this 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.”
Andrew Denton, president of Crown College, said Minnesota has long supported the school’s inclusion in the PSEO program.
“For decades, we have been grateful to extend this opportunity to young students who seek to join our Christian community through the PSEO program,” he said. “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.”
Eric Baxter, vice president and senior counsel at Becket, said Minnesota officials “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. We’re confident the court will strike down Minnesota’s ban for good.”
