University can reject Christian courses, Calif. court rules

(RNS) The University of California has the right to reject courses taught at Christian high schools, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday (Jan. 12). Calvary Chapel Christian School in Murrieta, Calif., and the Association of Christian Schools International claimed the university’s review policy was unconstitutional because it refused to certify courses that taught creationism and […]

(RNS) The University of California has the right to reject courses taught at Christian high schools, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday (Jan. 12).

Calvary Chapel Christian School in Murrieta, Calif., and the Association of Christian Schools International claimed the university’s review policy was unconstitutional because it refused to certify courses that taught creationism and other beliefs.

“The district court correctly determined that UC’s rejections of the Calvary courses were reasonable and did not constitute viewpoint discrimination,” the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled.


Students from private schools must meet certain high-school requirements before they are eligible to apply to an undergraduate campus of the University of California.

The court ruled that evidence in the case failed to show that the university was discriminating on the basis of religion.

“UC’s policy and its individual course decisions are not based on religion, but on whether a high school course is college preparatory,” the three-judge panel ruled.

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