One month after a lawsuit accusing the
of religious discrimination was supposed to begin trial proceedings, the case remains on hold while the judge
continues to pore over the high volume of material.
The Association of Christian Schools International, Calvary
Chapel Christian Schools of Murrieta, Calif. and six students within the
district are suing the UC system for discriminatory admissions practices,
alleging that the university’s rejection of religion-based course proposals to
meet science, history and English entrance requirements demonstrates prejudice
against Christian schools and students. Federal Judge S. James Otero rejected a
university-filed motion to drop a majority of the charges in August 2006, and the
suit was finally scheduled to go to trial Sept. 24.
ACSI officials said that the UC system rejected several
proposed courses as a part of the necessary “a-g” subject area admissions
requirements, a decision that unfairly limits certain students who choose to
take religion courses from meeting the necessary application requirements, thus
promoting a “secular viewpoint.”
The university, however, claims that as long as the core
academic content is present, the addition of a religious viewpoint does not
preclude a course from meeting requirements and being approved.
“The plaintiffs claim that UC admission discriminates and
recent UC rejection of primary texts for their ‘a-g’ subject requirement
courses have violated the right to free speech and religion,” UC counsel
Christopher Patti said. “Reviewers and faculty review the textbooks for content
students need. Textbooks must meet academic requirements, so that students
receive training or skills necessary for success in their first year at the
university.”
Friction between the university and Christian groups was
first brought to light in 2004, when the UC Board of Admissions and Relations
with Schools refused to grant “a-g” credit for classes taught with certain
religious-themed books. Among the rejected texts were biology and physics
textbooks published by Bob Jones University Press and A Beka Book, publishers
whose writings have been accused of favoring religious teachings over
scientific fact.
The introduction to Bob Jones’ “Biology for Christian
Schools,” one of the disputed texts, states that the authors have attempted to
“put the Word of God first and science second.” “Government for Christian
Schools,” a textbook used at Calvary Chapel, attributes the forces of
governmental decay to “man’s sinfulness.”
Calvary Chapel administrators did not respond to repeated
requests for comment.
ACSI advocates argued that if courses with a Christian
perspective were not approved, neither should courses such as “Western
Civilization: The Jewish Experience.” UC officials, however, have said that the
aforementioned course was approved because it fulfills the necessary academic
criteria.
Aside from taking 14 approved “a-g” courses, students still
have several ways of satisfying the admission requirements of the 10 UC
campuses. Students can be admitted if they score in the top two-thirds on the
SAT II subject tests of the missing course’s corresponding subject, or by
scoring a cumulative 3450 on the SAT Reasoning Test and two SAT II subject
tests.
More than 40 other courses at Calvary Chapel schools,
including some science classes, have been approved to meet “a-g” requirements.
