MINNEAPOLIS — A federal judge is currently deliberating whether to invalidate a Minnesota statute that prohibits the application of religious criteria by colleges involved in a state initiative permitting high school students to enroll in college-level courses for credit.
During a hearing held on Monday, the state defended the 2023 legislation, asserting that it serves to safeguard high school students who may not identify as Christian, heterosexual, or cisgender—individuals whose gender identity aligns with their sex at birth.
The law specifically impacts Minnesota’s two conservative Christian colleges, Crown College in St. Bonifacius and the University of Northwestern in Roseville, which require their students to affirm statements of faith. A collection of parents and high school students who are either currently earning college credits at these institutions or hope to do so are challenging the law in court, claiming it infringes upon their First Amendment rights to select educational environments that reflect their beliefs.
The established Minnesota Postsecondary Enrollment Options program allows high school students to obtain college credits funded by the state at both public and private colleges of their choosing, as long as the courses remain nonsectarian. Approximately 60,000 students have benefited from this program. Over a decade ago, state education officials discovered that both Crown and Northwestern impose restrictions on non-Christian and LGBTQ+ students participating in campus activities, prompting efforts to amend the regulatory framework surrounding the program.
After several unsuccessful attempts to modify the law in a split Legislature, the 2023 legislation was passed following a shift in power to the Democrats in both legislative chambers. Governor Tim Walz, a Democrat, signed the bill into law after a session that introduced a range of new protections for LGBTQ+ rights.
While legal challenges are ongoing—including any potential appeals—an agreement between the state and the colleges means that the law is currently not enforced. U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel did not specify when a ruling might be expected, but indicated that the law will remain on hold into the upcoming academic year if the case is not resolved by then.
“The state of Minnesota holds a fundamental duty to shield its students from discrimination,” asserted Assistant Attorney General Jeff Timmerman during the hearing.
In contradiction, Eric Baxter, an attorney representing The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, argued that the law specifically targets the two religious colleges, despite the state having previously permitted them to maintain their admission requirements for the program.
Baxter pointed out, “There is no evidence that the admissions criteria at Crown and Northwestern were problematic to the extent that restrictions on their religious practices were warranted.” He emphasized that recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions have established that when a state provides financial support to private institutions, the First Amendment prohibits excluding them based on religious grounds, citing recent cases from Montana, Maine, and Missouri.
Additionally, Baxter referenced a Supreme Court ruling from a Philadelphia case which indicated that a state’s desire to prevent discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals does not surpass the rights of religious groups to uphold their beliefs.
In response, Timmerman contended that those legal precedents do not apply in this situation. The state’s legal representatives noted that the law was revised to eliminate discrimination in all forms—not solely religious discrimination—since the colleges’ admission policies also discriminate against LGBTQ+ students based on their sexual orientation and gender identity. Furthermore, they claimed the religious institutions had not provided any substantial evidence showing that including non-Christian or LGBTQ+ high school students in the program would infringe upon the colleges’ religious tenets or practices.
Northwestern, which counts renowned evangelist Billy Graham among its former presidents, stands as one of the dominant providers of educational courses for high school students under the state initiative. Both Crown and Northwestern afford students, irrespective of their beliefs, the opportunity to take online classes.
Baxter later remarked that while numerous states operate similar college credit programs, most that have attempted to exclude religious institutions have faced legal setbacks.
