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Attorney General Ken Paxton Sues to End Unconstitutional Taxpayer-Funded Higher Education Work Program that Discriminates Against Religious Students, Including Christians
AUSTIN – Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued to end three university work-study programs in Texas that unconstitutionally discriminate against religious students, including Christians, and sectarian employers.
The unconstitutional and discriminatory taxpayer-funded initiatives include the Texas College Work-Study Program, the Texas Working Off-Campus: Reinforcing Knowledge and Skills (“WORKS”) Internship Program, and the Texas Innovative Adult Career Education (“ACE”) Grant Program.
“These anti-Christian laws targeting religious students must be completely wiped off the books,” said Attorney General Paxton. “Our nation was built by patriotic Americans who had the freedom to express their religious beliefs without fear of being targeted, and we will honor that heritage by upholding the First Amendment in Texas.”
The programs violate the First Amendment by excluding religious organization and students receiving religious instruction from State funds and otherwise requiring State-funded activities to be “nonsectarian.” This amounts to a wholesale exclusion of certain people—no matter how otherwise eligible—from state benefits under the program based solely on the religious character of their course of study. Recent U.S. Supreme Court precedent and case law has made clear that this kind of discrimination is unlawful.
Attorney General Paxton has asked for the programs to be declared unconstitutional.
To read the filing, click here.
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