The 3 - September 13, 2020

In this week's edition of The 3, there is a victory for a pro-life student organization at a Georgia college campus.  Plus, the U.S. Department of Education has committed to preserve the First Amendment rights of students, including free expression of religious faith. And, in North Carolina, a school has nixed day planners provided to students by a local church.

Pro-life group wins religious freedom at university campus

Last year, the pro-life group, Students for Life, on the campus of Georgia Tech, sought university funds in order to present an event featuring the pro-life niece of the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Alveda King.  A CBNNews.com report noted that all students, which would include SFL members, pay dues to the Student Government Association for the purpose of on-campus activities.

The article states:

When Students For Life member Brian Cochran presented his group's request to the graduate and undergraduate houses of the SGA, they interrogated him on the content and viewpoints that Students for Life and King would present at the event.

SGA denied the funding, noting the "inherently religious" nature of Alveda King's life. The event went on as scheduled, but without university dollars. But, Students for Life also contacted Alliance Defending Freedom. 

ADF filed a lawsuit against the school, and recently, it was announced that the school and Students for Life had reached an out-of-court settlement.  The article reports:

The University has agreed to change its unconstitutional policies that had allowed the SGA to discriminate against Alveda King and Students For Life. As part of the settlement ending the federal lawsuit, the university agreed to revise its policies to treat all student organizations fairly, regardless of viewpoint, and to pay $50,000 in damages and attorneys' fees.

Department of Education issues order to preserve First Amendment protections regarding faith

The U.S. Department of Education has issued a new regulation that is designed to protect the First Amendment rights of students on college campuses. The Christian Post reports that:

The regulation — Improving Free Inquiry, Transparency, and Accountability at Colleges and Universities — comes in response to an executive order issued in March 2019 signed by President Donald Trump that vowed to withhold federal research grants from colleges and universities that are hostile to First Amendment rights of students.

The article quotes from a summary of the rule, which states that the “...Final Rule prohibits discrimination against religious student organizations because of their beliefs, practices, policies, speech, membership standards, or leadership standards, which are informed by sincerely held religious beliefs..."  The Post says that:

The final rule comes as some faith-based campus groups across the country have been denied recognition by universities for having policies that require leaders of the organizations to adhere to their statements of faith, which has led to several legal battles.

NC school removes Bible verses from daily planners donated by church

A church in Alexander County, North Carolina donated 600 planners to a middle school there, only to find out that the school removed, or, as WSOC Television reported, "cut out" the two Scripture verses that were contained on the back of the planner.

The television report said that, "Parent Roger Hayes said he is in disbelief that East Alexander Middle School cut up his daughter’s planner in an effort to remove the Bible verses."

The article states:

Sulphur Springs Baptist Church said it reached out to the school this summer to find out how they could help and ended up spending more than $2,000 to have the planners printed.

“We just put them back there for encouragement. We know the school year ended rough last year. We know coming back with split days,” Assistant Pastor James Safrit said.

The television station notes that, "The school district said while they appreciate the community support, the principal believed including the scripture verses would violate a student’s rights." Hayes said, “That hurt my feelings, it really did. This society right now, I think we need God in our lives and Jesus in our lives and this tears my heart apart,” adding, “Why couldn’t it be my decision or my child’s decision to take it off.”  School officials, according to WSOC, felt that the planners would be unconstitutionally "indoctrinating" the students.