Discrimination | thebereancall.org

TBC Staff

Christian school sues UC [Excerpts]
 
A private [Christian] high school filed a discrimination lawsuit against the University of California system [August 25] in Los Angeles, alleging [that due to their] "Christian viewpoint" in the school's classes [they are unable to meet] UC admissions requirements.
 
A representative for the UC president's office could not be reached to comment on the lawsuit filed on behalf of Calvary Chapel Christian School in Murrieta and five of its students, along with a Christian schools group.
 
The Riverside County school's seniors are facing exclusion from the 10-campus UC system because of its admission policy, which the plaintiffs claim violates their right to freedom of speech and religious freedom.
 
According to the complaint, the university system has sent a "form letter" to Christian high schools informing them that two popular Christian biology textbooks are not acceptable, and that the course outlines are "not consistent with the viewpoints and knowledge generally accepted in the scientific community."
 
The letter states that, "As such, students who take these course may not be prepared for success if/when they enter science courses/programs at UC," according to the court papers.
 
The UC system also found that a Calvary Chapel Christian School history course titled "Christianity's Influence on American History" did not meet the requirements, the suit states.
 
An English course titled "Christianity and Morality in American Literature" was also rejected, as was a government course titled "Special Providence: American Government," according to the court papers.
 
The Murrieta school and the Association of Christian Schools International, "while not objecting to instruction in these courses and already offering them, object to government officials and bodies dictating and censoring the viewpoints that may and may not be taught in those courses, and regulating viewpoints and the content of private schools," the suit states.
 
The plaintiffs further argue that the requirements are unfair in light of the "often superior academic performance by the students that are supposedly harmed by instruction that adds religious viewpoints" (Press Telegram, Long Beach, CA, August 25, 2005).
 
[TBC: The bottom line is that the UC system is more interested in perpetuating a belief system (in this case Secular Humanism) than in academic excellence.]