Sunday, February 26, 2023

US Dept. of Education proposes end of rules shielding student religious groups at public colleges

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The Department of Education, on Tuesday 22nd February 2023, released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (full text) proposing to rescind two related rules adopted by the Trump Administration in September 2020. 

Those rules require that public colleges and universities which receive DOE grants (either direct grants or grants under state-administered formula grant programs) must not deny to religious student groups any of the rights, benefits, or privileges that other student groups enjoy because of the religious student organization’s beliefs, practices, policies, speech, membership standards, or leadership standards, which are informed by sincerely-held religious beliefs.

According to Tuesday's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking:

Some faith-based and civil rights organizations ... worried that [these rules] could be interpreted to require IHEs [institutions of higher education] to go beyond what the First Amendment mandates and allow religious student groups to discriminate against vulnerable and marginalized students....

There is nothing in the regulatory text that clarifies or guarantees that an institution may insist that such religious organizations comply with the same neutral and generally-applicable practices, policies, and membership and leadership standards that apply equally to nonreligious student organizations, including but not limited to nondiscrimination requirements.

The disparity between the language of the regulatory text and the Department’s stated intent has engendered confusion and uncertainty about what institutions must do to avoid risking ineligibility for covered Department grants....

If IHEs do discriminate against religious student organizations on the basis of the organizations’ beliefs or character, such organizations can and do seek relief in Federal and State courts, which have longstanding expertise in and responsibility for protecting rights under the Free Speech and Free Exercise Clauses, including in cases where there are complex, fact-dependent disputes about whether a policy is neutral and generally-applicable.

The Department of Education also published a Request for Information on the effect of current free speech protections required of DOE grantees.