DOEd moves to scrap Trump-era rule protecting faith-based campus groups
The Department of Education is proposing to eliminate a Trump-era requirement that public colleges and universities recognize religious student groups and provide them equal protection.
Public comment to the Department of Education is open until March 24, 2023.
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Gabrielle M. Etzel | Reporter
March 22, 2023, 10:46 am
The Department of Education (DOEd) has published a formal rule proposal to eliminate religious liberty provisions of the “Free Inquiry” rule for public colleges and universities, potentially putting religious student groups at risk.
President Donald Trump issued an executive order in March 2019 seeking “to promote free and open debate on college and university campuses” by tying federal educational and research grants to the institution’s protection of free speech and religious exercise. An official DOEd rule was published in November 2020, which specified protections for religious student groups.
Although private institutions are not bound by First Amendment restrictions, which only apply to government actors, this rule obligates them to uphold stated institutional policies on academic freedom, free speech, and free association.
https://campusreform.org/article?id=21590
