Student groups at 1200 universities could be threatened

View this email in your browser ([link removed])
[link removed]



** For Immediate Release: March 30, 2023
------------------------------------------------------------


** Rutherford Institute Challenges Rule Change That Could Allow Universities to Discriminate Against Religious Student Groups
------------------------------------------------------------

WASHINGTON, DC —The Rutherford Institute is pushing back against the Department of Education’s efforts to roll back First Amendment protections ([link removed]) issued under the Trump administration, warning that it could result in discriminatory treatment and double standards by public colleges and universities against religious student groups.

The regulations in danger of being rescinded by the Biden administration require public colleges and universities that currently receive grant funding to treat religious student groups the same as other student organizations. However, Rutherford Institute attorneys caution ([link removed]) that without the current protections in place, religious student groups at more than 1,200 public colleges and universities could face adverse action by administrators inclined to view the groups’ religious beliefs and statements of faith as violating the schools’ non‑discrimination policies.

“At times, it seems that mainstream America has become more tolerant toward every social group except those who are vocal about their religious beliefs,” said constitutional attorney John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute and author of Battlefield America: The War on the American People ([link removed]) . “Yet not only do religious students have a First Amendment right to exercise and express their religious beliefs freely and without fear of censorship, but religious student groups also have a right to be treated fairly and without discrimination and in the same manner as other student groups at a public school.”
MAKE THE GOVERNMENT PLAY BY THE RULES OF THE CONSTITUTION: SUPPORT THE FIGHT FOR FREEDOM ([link removed])

In November 2020, Department of Education (DOE) regulations went into effect requiring public colleges and universities that receive government grants from the DOE to “not deny any religious student organization any right, benefit, or privilege that is otherwise afforded to other student organizations because of the religious student organization’s beliefs, practices, policies, speech, membership standards, or leadership standards, which are informed by sincerely-held religious beliefs.” Over 1,200 public colleges and universities are grant recipients. However, in February 2023, the DOE under the direction of the Biden administration sought to rescind those regulations, claiming that the regulations are unnecessary, confusing and burdensome to enforce.

In voicing its opposition to the proposed rule changes ([link removed]) , The Rutherford Institute rebuffed the DOE’s arguments, noting the need for greater consistency across public institutions when it comes to First Amendment rights and pointing to the double standards that come to bear when schools fail to apply non‑discrimination policies uniformly, allowing some student groups to restrict membership or leadership based on certain secular criteria while penalizing religious student groups for adhering to their own faith-based criteria. The current regulations help to prevent such discriminatory treatment and double standards by public colleges and universities against religious student groups. As the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals explained in a case involving discrimination of a religious student group by public school educators, “under the First Amendment, our government must be scrupulously neutral when it comes to
religion: It cannot treat religious groups worse than comparable secular ones…. The government cannot set double standards to the detriment of religious groups only.”

The Rutherford Institute’s public comment on the DOE's proposed rule change ([link removed]) is available at www.rutherford.org ([link removed]) .

The Rutherford Institute ([link removed]) , a nonprofit civil liberties organization, defends individuals whose constitutional rights have been threatened or violated and educates the public on a wide spectrum of issues affecting their freedoms.

Source: [link removed]
[link removed] Share ([link removed])
[link removed]: https%3A%2F%2Fmailchi.mp%2Frutherford%2Frule-change-could-allow-universities-to-discriminate-against-religious-student-groups Tweet ([link removed]: https%3A%2F%2Fmailchi.mp%2Frutherford%2Frule-change-could-allow-universities-to-discriminate-against-religious-student-groups)
[link removed] Forward ([link removed])
CLICK HERE TO MAKE A TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION ([link removed])

To donate via PayPal, please click below:
[link removed]

============================================================
** Follow us on Facebook ([link removed])
** Follow us on Facebook ([link removed])
** Follow us on Twitter ([link removed])
** Follow us on Twitter ([link removed])
** YouTube ([link removed])
** YouTube ([link removed])
CONTACT INFORMATION
Nisha Whitehead
(434) 978-3888 ext. 604
** [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])

THE RUTHERFORD INSTITUTE
Post Office Box 7482
Charlottesville, VA 22906-7482
Phone: (434) 978-3888
** www.rutherford.org ([link removed])

Copyright © 2023 The Rutherford Institute, All rights reserved.

You are receiving this email because of your interest in the work of The Rutherford Institute. Founded in 1982 by constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead, The Rutherford Institute is a civil liberties organization that provides free legal services to people whose constitutional and human rights have been threatened or violated. To discontinue your membership electronically, or if you feel you are receiving this message in error, please follow the link below.

Under the regulations of the United States Internal Revenue Service, The Rutherford Institute is incorporated as a 501(c)(3) tax exempt nonprofit organization. Donations to support The Rutherford Institute’s legal and educational work help to safeguard the constitutional rights of all Americans. Donations are tax-deductible. In compliance with general industry standards of a nonprofit organization, the Institute is audited annually by an independent accounting firm.

** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])

** update subscription preferences ([link removed])