A lawsuit challenging the Department of Education’s rule that public colleges and universities receiving federal grants must adhere to the First Amendment was dismissed on Feb. 18.

Americans United and American Atheists represented the Secular Student Alliance (SSA), an organization devoted to atheist, humanist and non-theist students. The case dates back to Jan. 19, 2021, when the two groups filed a legal challenge to the federal rule requiring “a public institution to not deny a religious student organization any of the rights, benefits, or privileges that are otherwise afforded to other student organizations.”

The rule was enacted in 2020, in President Trump’s first administration, and the group filed the lawsuit on Trump’s final day in office.

The rule stated purpose is to “encourage institutions of higher education to foster environments that promote open, intellectually engaging, and diverse debate, including through compliance with the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution for public institutions and compliance with stated institutional policies regarding freedom of speech, including academic freedom, for private institutions.”

In favor of the Education Department’s rule, Ratio Christi, a national Christian apologetics group, filed a motion to intervene through Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) on Feb. 18, 2021.

Ratio Christi, who has gone to court over discriminatory policies aimed at their Christian beliefs at least twice, stated in the motion that “Ratio Christi has a substantial interest in the subject matter of this case, and the outcome of this case may impair its interests, because Ratio Christi stands to lose the campus protections that the federal rule guarantees.”

ADF Senior Counsel Matt Bowman said in a press release: “Universities should model the First Amendment values they’re supposed to be teaching students; they should not have unilateral power to dictate how student organizations select their leaders. The First Amendment guarantees freedom of association—that is, the right to gather around shared beliefs. Colleges and universities receiving federal funds shouldn’t be permitted to thwart the First Amendment through mandates that allow people who want to undermine the mission of a student group to become leaders of it. The Department of Education was right to enact a regulation that prohibits this and other First Amendment violations.”

On Jan. 15, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia denied two of SAA’s claims. The federal district court also ruled SAA’s last two claims would be reviewed at a later time. Following the ruling, SAA withdrew their lawsuit on Feb. 18.

Responding to the case’s dismissal, Bowman said that universities should be places where students are safe to express their beliefs without fear of punishment.

“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,” Bowman said. “…We’re pleased the court recently upheld First Amendment freedoms for college students everywhere and that the plaintiff has now dismissed this case entirely.”

Photo: Alamy