Colorado Christian University v. Baker

Colorado Christian University (CCU) filed a lawsuit in federal court on December 6, 2004, challenging Colorado’s exclusion of students at robustly religious colleges and universities from state student aid programs.   On behalf of CCU and its students, CLS’s Center for Law & Religious Freedom filed the suit against officials with the Colorado Commission on Higher Education (CCHE), which administers state student aid programs.

CCU, a four-year, Christ-centered liberal arts university, applied to participate in Colorado’s state-funded student financial aid programs in September 2003.  The CCHE denied the application in November 2004 on the sole ground that the school was “pervasively sectarian.”  Relevant state statutes deny aid to students who choose “pervasively sectarian” schools. The CCHE concluded that CCU was “pervasively sectarian” because it draws its trustees and faculty from those who voluntarily profess faith in Christ; because it expects some of its students to attend chapel; and because it expects some of its students to take certain courses in religion.

Colorado’s exclusion of CCU and its students from state aid programs violates the Free Exercise Clause, the Establishment Clause, and the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution. In May 2007, the federal district court disagreed, and CCU appealed. The case is pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. CLS Center Director Greg Baylor presented oral argument to the Tenth Circuit on behalf of CCU on May 14, 2008.

The Center for Law & Religious Freedom, Eric V. Hall and L. Martin Nussbaum of Rothgerber Johnson & Lyons, LLP, the Alliance Defense Fund, and Thomas N. Scheffel of Denver represent CCU and its students in the case.

Documents & Links:

Appellant's Reply Brief - January 9, 2008

Appellees' Answer Brief - November 28, 2007

Appellant's Opening Brief - September 24, 2007

Amicus Briefs in Support of Colorado Christian University:

Amicus Brief of the American Center for Law & Justice

Amicus Brief of the Becket Fund

Amicus Brief of the Center for Public Justice (CPJ) and the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE)

Amicus Brief of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU) and the American Association of Presidents of Independent Colleges and Universities

Amicus Brief of the Foundation for Moral Law

Amicus Brief of the United States

Amicus Briefs in Support of the Colorado Commission on Higher Education:

Amicus Brief of the American Jewish Congress, Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU), American Civil Liberties Union (ACLJ), People For the American Way Foundation (PFAW), the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the American Federation of Teachers, and the American Jewish Committee

Amicus Brief of the National Education Association (NEA), the Colorado Education Association, the National School Boards Association (NSBA), and the National Parent Teacher Association

Complaint

Press Release, December 9, 2004