A federal judge has struck down restrictions preventing the participation of faith-based colleges in a dual enrollment program in Minnesota as unconstitutional, allowing high school students to receive college credit at such institutions of higher education for work completed in high school.
In a ruling Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Nancy Brasel sided with Minnesota parents seeking to allow their children to obtain postsecondary education credits at faith-based institutions of higher education as well as Christian colleges in the state.
The lawsuit challenged amendments to the decades-old law establishing the Postsecondary Enrollment Options program, passed in 2023, clarifying that eligible institutions “must not require a faith statement from a secondary student seeking to enroll in a postsecondary course under this section during the application process.”
The amendments also prohibit schools from basing “any part of the admission decision on a student’s race, creed, ethnicity, disability, gender, or sexual orientation or religious beliefs or affiliations.”
Brasel, a Trump appointee, said the 2023 amendments violated the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the Freedom of Conscience Clause of the Minnesota Constitution. Her ruling ordered the amendments to be completely stricken from Minnesota state law.
“The Faith Statement Ban is inseverable from the Nondiscrimination Requirement, and so the Amendment must be stricken in its entirety,” Brasel wrote. “As for MDE’s counterclaims, MDE lacks standing to assert its constitutional counterclaims, and its statutory counterclaim fails on the merits under the [Minnesota Human Rights Act].”
The ruling follows more than two years of litigation from Mark and Melinda Loe as well as Dawn Erickson, Minnesota parents who wish to have their children earn PSEO credits at a faith-based institution. Two Christian colleges that wish to participate in the program — the University of Northwestern – St. Paul and Crown College — are also plaintiffs.
Plaintiffs praised Friday’s ruling in statements published Monday by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, the law firm at the center of the challenge.
“We raise our children to put their faith at the center of their lives,” Mark and Melinda Loe said.
“Minnesota tried to take that right away from us by denying kids like ours the opportunity to attend schools that reflect their faith. We are grateful for this ruling, which protects students across the state and the schools they want to attend,” they added.
University of Northwestern – St. Paul President Corbin Hoornbeek is thankful the effort to “restrict students who desire to take their PSEO credits at Northwestern” was “rebuffed.”
“We are grateful that UNW can continue to serve the Minnesota families who wish to get a head start in their college journey as members of our unwavering campus community,” Hoornbeek said.
Crown College President Andrew Denton called the ruling “significant.”
“The court made clear that Minnesota cannot single out high school students who want to attend a faith-centered institution,” Denton said. “We are deeply appreciative to the legislative members who worked hard to try and prevent this law from passing.”
Becket Senior Counsel Diana Thomson said the ruling is “a win for families who won’t be strong-armed into abandoning their beliefs, and a sharp warning to politicians who target them.”
She characterized Minnesota’s effort to “cut off educational opportunities to thousands of high schoolers simply because of their faith” as both “unlawful” and “shameful.”
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
