Over a decade ago, Trinity Lutheran Church in Columbia, Missouri, filed a lawsuit after it was denied a publicly available grant to upgrade its preschool’s playground, simply because it was a religious institution. The case made it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled in 2017 that the state government’s exclusion of Trinity Lutheran from the grant program was religious discrimination—“odious to our Constitution.”
Unfortunately, this landmark ruling hasn’t stopped some government officials from discriminating against religious schools. In Georgia, state officials excluded Luther Rice College and Seminary from participating in student financial aid programs because the officials deemed the school too religious. Thankfully, after Alliance Defending Freedom filed a lawsuit on behalf of the school, the state backed down.
Instructing students from a biblical worldview
Luther Rice College and Seminary is a Christian school in Lithonia, Georgia. It offers undergraduate degrees in psychology, general studies, and religion.
The school’s mission is to serve “the church and community” by “providing biblically based on-campus and distance education to Christian men and women.” Consistent with this mission, all the school’s courses are taught from a Christian worldview.
While some of Luther Rice’s students go into ministry after graduation, others use the skills they learn to enter the marketplace. The school even has a program called Ministry in the Marketplace that teaches students how to share biblical truth in jobs that aren’t traditionally considered mission-based.
Luther Rice had 757 students for the 2023-24 school year, roughly a third of whom were undergraduates. Among undergrads, 157 were Georgia residents, making them eligible for state financial aid programs. Many of these students rely heavily on financial assistance to cover their tuition costs. While some of them are eligible for federal financial assistance, they were unjustly excluded from state financial aid solely because of the religious character of their school.
Georgia’s student financial aid programs
Georgia offers a variety of financial aid programs for undergraduate students at public and private colleges and universities in the state.
- The Georgia Tuition Equalization Grant program encourages in-state residents to attend private schools and provides “tuition equalization grants to all Georgia students attending approved schools … whenever sufficient funds are available to the state.”
- The HOPE and Zell Miller Scholarship programs are merit-based scholarship programs that reward students for demonstrating academic excellence.
- Georgia’s Dual Enrollment program allows students to earn high school and college credit at approved schools and experience college courses while they are still in high school.
- The HERO Scholarship program recognizes Georgia residents serving their country by providing “financial aid to qualifying Georgia National Guard or United States Military Reservists, their spouses, and dependent children who seek a postsecondary education.”
Luther Rice College and Seminary wanted to participate in these programs, but Georgia deemed the school too religious and excluded it from all state financial aid programs.
Georgia excludes Luther Rice based on its religious character and exercise
To be eligible for these programs, schools must be accredited, have a physical location in Georgia, and not be “a graduate level school or college of theology or divinity.” While Luther Rice met the first two qualifications, it of course could not satisfy the third.
The statutes do not define “college of theology or divinity.” And even though Luther Rice College and Seminary offers undergraduate degrees in secular fields, Georgia officials said this was “insufficient” for eligibility because “most of its offerings remain religious based and non-religious degrees remain substantially intertwined with the school’s religious mission.”
Luther Rice is a Christian institution. So it’s natural that the school’s courses are taught consistent with its religious mission. But unless Luther Rice were to give up its religious character, it remained barred from participating in state financial aid programs.
In effect, Georgia was denying some students the opportunity to attend Luther Rice because they could not afford it without assistance. In addition, the state was preventing students from taking dual credit courses at Luther Rice while in high school.
No student should have to choose between receiving state funding or following their faith when deciding which school to attend. That’s why ADF filed a lawsuit on Luther Rice’s behalf challenging Georgia’s exclusion of Luther Rice based on its religious character and exercise. Thankfully, after just two months, state officials agreed to allow the school to participate in Georgia’s financial aid programs.
“This endeavor was not just an opportunity to defend our religious freedom, but it was also an opportunity to demonstrate the value of a Christian education,” said Dr. Steven Steinhilber, president of Luther Rice. He added, “I look forward to providing our Georgia residents an affordable biblically based education that is so vital for our time.”
Luther Rice College and Seminary v. Riley
- October 2024: ADF attorneys filed a lawsuit against Georgia officials for unjustly excluding Luther Rice College and Seminary from the state’s student financial aid programs.
- December 2024: ADF attorneys favorably settled the case as state officials agreed to allow Luther Rice College and Seminary to participate in Georgia’s financial aid programs.
