Students can't use aid at religious schools

Colorado is discriminating against religious schools and universities in its state student aid programs, a lawsuit filed in federal court charges.

Colorado Christian University says it applied to participate in the programs in September 2003, but last month, the application was denied on the sole ground that the school was "pervasively sectarian."

The Center for Law & Religious Freedom of the Christian Legal Society, which filed the suit on behalf of the school, alleges Colorado's exclusion of the school and its students from state aid programs violates the First Amendment's Free Exercise and Establishment clauses in addition to the Equal Protection Clause.

The suit against the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, or CCHE, which administers state student aid programs, also asks the court to review the decision under the Colorado Administrative Procedure Act.

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The CCHE was following statutes established by the Colorado legislature which deny aid to students attending schools labeled "pervasively sectarian."

To evaluate whether a school is sectarian, the legislature directed CCHE to examine factors such as the religious commitments of students, faculty, and the governing board; the content of the curriculum; and the school's sources of funding.

Colorado Christian University is a four-year, evangelical liberal-arts school in Lakewood, Colo., which offers degrees in a wide range of disciplines and is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.

CCU President Larry Donnithorne said the state statutes are denying Coloradans the full range of education options.

"We filed this lawsuit in order to end religious discrimination in Colorado's state student aid programs," he said.

Gregory S. Baylor, director of the Center for Law & Religious Freedom, said the student aid laws reflect "an outdated understanding of 'separation of church and state.'"

"The U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly held in recent years that the Constitution does not require government to discriminate against religion," he said.

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Attorneys for the school points out Colorado's education commission allowed Regis University, which has a Roman Catholic identity, to participate in the aid programs.

The Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund and two Colorado law firms also are representing the school.