No room at the inn

UC finds Christian school coursework unacceptable; schools sue

By Michael Klein
From the December 2005 Print Edition

In a recent evaluation of acceptable UC college-preparatory courses at the K-12 level, the UC administration has flatly rejected certain courses as “too religious.”

Students at Calvary Chapel Christian School in Murrieta, California, were denied admission to the UC system based upon the high school courses in which they enrolled. While the University of California maintains that the courses are unacceptable to the list of a-g certified courses, the Christian students remain confident in the validity and rigor of the coursework.

On August 25, Calvary Chapel Christian School and the Association of Christian Schools International, a body representing Christian schools around the world, resolved that indeed they believed the Christian students at the school were being discriminated against on the basis of their religious viewpoint. They subsequently filed a complaint against several UC administration officials, including the Board of Admissions and Relations with Schools, which, as the board claims, “regulates the policies and practices used in the admissions process that directly relates [sic] to the educational mission of the University.”

The complaint, filed at the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in Los Angeles, alleges viewpoint discrimination on the part of the University of California by way of its high school course approval process; thus, Calvary and ACSI regard the discrimination as a violation of First Amendment free-speech rights. In total, the complaint was filed by six high school students, five of whom filed through their parents.

Robert Tyler, the attorney representing Calvary Christian School, said that it is obvious that the University of California rejected coursework on the basis of the Christian students’ viewpoint. The UC system has recently declined to accept particular texts for their religious content: American Classics for Christians, a literature text, and United States History for Christian Schools, an American government text. The UC system claimed that the content was “too narrow/too specified” despite the plaintiff’s argument that the texts present “standard subject matter.” Tyler further explained that when the courses were submitted to the University of California, it essentially replied that the courses “do not appear to be taught from an unbiased perspective.” Yet Tyler maintains that the school has a constitutional right to teach from a Christian perspective. The University is “rejecting courses based on Christianity,” he says.

UC Berkeley students of the Christian community responded to the complaint by reasoning through the arguments that the UC system has presented. One member of the Christian community, who wishes to remain anonymous, argued that the UC system has the right to disqualify courses that do not meet the a-g requirements for any reason. This student holds that “If a school’s coursework fails to teach enough information in certain subject areas, whether for religious reasons or otherwise, then that course is inadequate.” However, he said that if the UC system denies the course on the basis of religious foundation alone, then there is reason for complaint.

The ACSI “Legal/Legislative Update” for Fall 2005 presents an overview of the case. Included is a description of a personal dialogue with members of the UC administration. In response to the question of the performance of Christian students in the UC system, the ACSI reports that the UC officials said they had no evidence suggesting that religious students entered their freshman years of college unprepared in science. Also, the ACSI mentions that UC representatives had indicated that had Scripture verses been removed from the Bob Jones University Press physics textbook, they might have approved it. This led directly to the ACSI belief that the UC system was indeed discriminating against Christianity.

The ACSI asserts that the central issue of contention in the personal correspondence was the viewpoint of the textbooks that the Bible was more authoritative than scientific. Michael Chongpornprasert of Every Nation Campus Ministries, a student Christian group, said that if the rejections are based upon the inclusion of Scripture verses in the text, then the University of California is making an “arbitrary” decision to discriminate. Further, said Chongpornprasert, if the courses adhere to the core teachings of the “d” requirement, notably the scientific method in an array of lab courses, then the viewpoint should remain independent of UC scrutiny.

For the present case, it is thus essential to the plaintiffs’ argument to prove the competency of the Christian students to enter into the UC system, and whether they qualify for admission based on performance. Jonathan McCants, an attorney for the ACSI, claims that the Christian students are indeed qualified and deserving of admission to UC schools, providing the maintenance of their current GPAs and SAT scores: “It is reasonable to assume, at the end of the day, that these types of students are eligible.” All students, according to the complaint, have SAT scores above the average UC admissions range of 1200-1250, and have qualifying GPAs above 3.5.

When questioned about the partiality of the previously rejected science course textbooks, McCants responded that he perceived that the textbooks did adequately represent the theory of evolution. Despite these rejections of science courses, Tyler added that the UC system has continued to accept high school courses such as Introduction to Buddhism and Islam, for the “g” electives requirement. He argues that these courses are also similarly narrow, suggesting that there is ideological discrimination by the University of California. One of the restricted biology texts is legally in use at Calvary now, says McCann, and could be threatened when the UC system requires new courses to be submitted for approval.

Students involved with this case attending Calvary now must think twice when selecting courses, as their futures might be at stake. McCants said that the six students who filed the complaint are hardly the entirety of those affected by the recent decision of the UC system to disqualify courses. Many remain uncertain and discouraged at the prospect of course selection. As a hearing is scheduled for December 12 to decide the University of California’s motion to dismiss the case, students at Calvary Christian School search for alternative courses to duck the new restrictions.

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