DENVER (CN) - The Colorado Commission on Higher Education discriminated against a Christian college by denying it access to scholarships, the 10th Circuit ruled.
Colorado Christian University challenged the district court's determination that "pervasively sectarian" schools are not entitled to scholarships.
Judge McConnell ruled that "the program expressly discriminates among religions without constitutional justification."
Several criteria were in place for the "pervasively sectarian" rule, including faculty and staff being of the same religion, a lack of commitment to academic freedom, and the funders and governing board of the school all being of the same religion.
McConnell also ruled that the commission failed to prove that "Colorado has a compelling interest in keeping taxpayers from supporting schools that choose religious education."
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