Education

Religion and College Admissions

By Amanda Jones — October 10, 2007 1 min read
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An association of Christian high schools is suing the University of California system, alleging unconstitutionally biased admissions, according to a Chicago Tribune article. The UC system is accused of discounting core courses from Christian high schools because of their religious viewpoint. UC does admit that “the process of reviewing [high school courses] has become more regularized and rigorous over time,” according to Christopher Patti, counsel for UC.

The decision of this unprecedented case could have a large impact on curriculum—not only for California’s approximately 800 religious secondary schools, but also for religious high schools around the country. “If...the university prevails, then it seems to me to send a message across the country that a religious viewpoint at a religious school can get you in trouble,” said Charles Haynes, senior scholar at the Freedom Forum’s First Amendment Center, a non-partisan foundation dedicated to free press and free speech. “That’s a chilling message. That can hurt your graduates, and that is also a disincentive to go to a religious school.”

A version of this news article first appeared in the Web Watch blog.