RECENT STORIES

3A/3B: Strong schools, strong property values ( Lesley Dahlkemper )
Election time blues ( Tim LaMacchio )
Lakewood photographer to have major show at C.U. ( Renee Fajardo-Anstine )
Two first-class stamps required for Jeffco ballots ( Julie Story )
Jeffco officials warn about ingesting moonflower ( Nancy Braden )

share a story | more postings »

YourHub.com \\ Lakewood \\ Stories \\ News \\ Law

CCU disappointed by Federal District Court ruling

e-mail to a friend | print this | link to this

Contributed by: Colorado Christian University on 5/18/2007

Colorado Christian University is "very surprised and disappointed" by the May 18 federal district court ruling in the University's case against the Colorado Commission on Higher Education (CCHE). "The decision is, we believe, contrary to the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution," commented CCU President Bill Armstrong. "The University intends to appeal the decision to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals."

"The effect of the ruling is to say that Colorado students will be denied state tuition aid for college if they want to attend a religious school," Armstrong pointed out. "Judge Marcia S. Krieger's decision is a setback for the students involved and for religious liberty. In our opinion, the Colorado Commission on Higher Education is violating the religious liberty and equal protection provisions of the U.S. Constitution."

CCU filed the lawsuit against CCHE in 2004 as a result of legislation establishing a series of state-funded college tuition grants for Colorado students. These grants permitted students to use the funds for tuition at "approved" institutions of higher education. Among those presently "approved" are Regis University, the University of Denver, the Art Institute of Colorado, Colorado Technical University, Denver Automotive and Diesel, the University of Colorado, etc.

In this list of "approved" institutions, which includes most colleges and universities in the state, CCU is a glaring exception--even though the University has long been fully accredited and offers a broad range of undergraduate and graduate degrees in business, education, humanities, sciences, music, theology, counseling, and so forth.

Although CCHE acknowledged that CCU "meets all academic accreditation and financial criteria," the University was not "approved" because it was deemed to be "pervasively sectarian." Applying this test is, in the opinion of the University, "blatant religious discrimination" and violates the U.S. Constitution. Joining CCU in this position is the U.S. Department of Justice which filed a "friend of the court" brief supporting CCU's position.

"Based on the facts and applicable law, we believe the Tenth Circuit Court will overrule today's decision," President Armstrong concluded.

[Report this as objectionable content.]

SUBMIT COMMENT

Rate the above story

Talk Back : submit comments to the story

*Note: you need to log-in to add a comment or rating.

Thank you! Your comment has been updated.

CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Colorado Christian University

Lakewood , CO

Colorado Christian University has posted 227 stories and 0 comments since joining on 10/19/2006. Colorado Christian University's average story rating is 4.4.

view profile » view other postings from Colorado Christian University »

SAVE AND SHARE THIS STORY

digg	Google
del.icio.us	Yahoo!
reddit	newsvine

What is this?

STORY RSS FEEDS

All stories

All stories in Lakewood

All stories by Colorado Christian University

WANT TO WRITE FOR YOURHUB.COM?

Want to see the stories you write and the photos you shoot featured in the YourHub.com Thursday print section available all over the Front Range and with home subscriptions of the Rocky Mountain News and The Denver Post? All you have to do is register, then post a story or column, start a blog or tell everyone what events are happening in town. We will print the best stories, columns, event listings, photos and blog entries in our print sections.

Loading Ad