In a major win for Alliance Defending Freedom and religious freedom on college campuses, the case of Secular Student Alliance v. U.S. Department of Education has been dismissed, affirming protections for faith-based student organizations.
What is Alliance Defending Freedom?
Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, marriage and family, and the sanctity of life.
Alliance Defending Freedom Church & Ministry Alliance, a specialized branch of Alliance Defending Freedom, provides legal support and advocacy to protect the First Amendment rights and independence of religious organizations.
The case challenged Trump-era regulations requiring universities receiving federal funding to respect the First Amendment rights of religious student groups.
Alliance Defending Freedom filed a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of Ratio Christi, a Christian apologetics ministry with student chapters at over a hundred college and university campuses. Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys argued that the organization has a direct stake in the regulations because “Ratio Christi requires its leaders to share its theological beliefs, including basic teachings about the Christian faith.”
The regulations at issue specifically addressed discrimination against religious student organizations on campus.
Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys argued that the regulations were specifically designed to “prevent public institutions from denying rights, benefits, and privileges to religious student organizations because of their religious character” and “prevent public institutions from failing to recognize religious student organizations because of their faith-based membership or leadership criteria.”
The Department’s regulations “clarify that public institutions allowing student organizations to restrict membership or hold certain standards for leadership may not implement non-neutral policies that single out religious student organizations for unfavorable treatment,” the brief stated.
The brief also noted that “Ratio Christi has needed to go to court at least twice to persuade college administrators to respect its First Amendment freedoms.”
In a statement published on Alliance Defending Freedom Media, Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Matt Bowman, director of regulatory practice, said universities are meant to be a marketplace of ideas where students can learn to respect diverse opinions and beliefs and not have to fear punishment or harassment because of their own values.
“The Department of Education under President Trump rightfully updated its regulations to ensure that institutions of higher education have policies that align with the First Amendment. Christian student group Ratio Christi has at least twice gone to court over discriminatory policies targeted at their beliefs, and the Department of Education updated its regulations to prevent these types of violations. We’re pleased the court recently upheld First Amendment freedoms for college students everywhere and that the plaintiff has now dismissed this case entirely,” Bowman said.
The dismissal represents an affirmation of religious liberty protections for student groups on federally funded college campuses across the United States.