Minnesota Judge Grants Temporary Injunction to Law Excluding Some Religious Schools From College Credit Program

A file photo of a judge's gavel. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

A Minnesota federal judge delivered a win to some Christian parents in the state on June 14 after granting a preliminary injunction on a newly amended law banning some religious schools from participating in a state program known as the Post Secondary Enrollment Options Act (PSEO).

Judge Nancy E. Brasel sided with parents Mark and Melinda Loe and Dawn Erickson, as well as two Christian universities, Crown College and University of Northwestern—St. Paul, who had sought an injunction on the newly-amended law.

The injunction will remain in place while legal disputes play out.

“Defendants are enjoined during the course of this action and any subsequent appeals, from enforcing the Act of May 24, 2023,” the judge wrote in a two-page order (pdf).

The case centered around the state-funded PSEO, enacted in 1985 to promote “rigorous course taking” and “improve student transitions to postsecondary education.”

The program allows Minnesota high school students to earn both secondary and postsecondary credits for college or university courses for free, without incurring debt, by taking courses at the college or university of their choice, or online or at high school, meaning they can get a head start on post-secondary education and save money.

Previously, the program allowed faith-based institutions to participate.

View of the campus of Northwestern University. EQRoy/Shutterstock

Walz Amends Program Criteria

However, Democratic governor Tim Walz in May amended the eligibility requirements for schools that are part of the program, stipulating that participating institutions, “must not require a faith statement from a secondary student seeking to enroll in a postsecondary course” during the application process or base admissions decisions on religious beliefs, race, ethnicity, disability, gender or sexual orientation or religious beliefs or affiliations.

The amendment meant that colleges including Northwestern and Crown were effectively left unable to continue using the program because they ask on-campus students to sign statements of faith.

Plaintiffs had argued in a lawsuit (pdf) filed in May that Walz’s amendment to the program was discriminatory against religious students and schools.

“Minnesota knowingly excluded Crown and Northwestern from the PSEO program because of their religious beliefs, even after being warned this was unconstitutional, ” they wrote in their lawsuit, which listed Walz, and Education Commissioner Willie Jett as defendants.

“In the last six years, the Supreme Court has three times held that once a state opens funding to private institutions, the First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause forbids excluding participants based on their religion or their religious use of the funds,” they wrote. “States discriminating against religion have already struck out three times at the Supreme Court. Minnesota should not get a fourth attempt.”

“The effect of the amendment is to force religious families like the Loes and the Ericksons to forgo using PSEO funds within the religious environment provided by the religious schools of their choice,” the plaintiffs added.

In a statement following the judge’s ruling, the Loes, whose older children have used PSEO funds in the past at both the Christian schools, said they were glad that Minnesota has “agreed not to punish our children and many students like them for wanting to learn at schools that reflect their values.”

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz speaks during a press conference in St. Paul, Minn., on April 19, 2021. Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

Schools Welcome Ruling

“They should be able to pursue the same great opportunities as all other students in the state without politicians in St. Paul getting in the way. We hope the court will eventually strike this law down for good and protect all religious students and the schools they want to attend,” the Loe’s said.

Corbin Hoornbeek, president at the University of Northwestern-St. Paul, said the state “cannot single out schools such as Northwestern due to our campus culture and the integration of faith and learning,” adding that he hopes the court will permanently recognize this going forward.

Andrew Denton, president of Crown College said he is thankful that the school can continue welcoming PSEO students in the future without taking on significant amounts of debt.

“We remain steadfast in our commitment to upholding our mission of providing PSEO students a boldly Christian, biblically based education, and we are hopeful the court will permanently protect our faith-based culture and the students we serve,” Denton said.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit were represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a non-profit public interest law firm based in Washington, which accused the state of failing to do its homework before passing the “unconstitutional law.”

“The next step is for the court to strike down this ban for good,” Becket senior counsel Diana Thomson said.

However, the Minnesota Department of Education defended the amendment in a statement to Fox News.

“The Minnesota Department of Education believes no students should be discriminated against based on their religion,” said Kevin Burns, communications director for the Department. “The new law is designed to defend the rights and individual liberties of Minnesota students, and today’s action will allow for a thorough legal review of the statute as passed during the 2023 legislative session.”

The Epoch Times has contacted the Minnesota Department of Education for further comment.