According to First Liberty Institute, Bethany Hall, a student at Liberty University, qualified for a $5,000-per-year grant under Virginia's Tuition Assistance Grant (VTAG) program. However, when she changed her major from music education to youth ministries, and later to music and worship, the state declared her ineligible unless she dropped her religious major.
Steven Fitschen, president of the National Legal Foundation, one of the organizations representing Hall, says the current rule creates a double standard against students of faith.
"It is odious to our Constitution for a state to fund a degree in music but refuse to fund a degree in music and worship. The Free Exercise Clause is meant to encourage and even prefer religion, but Virginia's decision to deny funding based upon religious use is the type of hostility toward religion rejected by the First Amendment," Fitschen states.
The petition, filed on behalf of Hall, challenges a precedent set in the case Locke v. Davey, which established it was not unconstitutional for a state scholarship program to exclude religious degrees.
Lower federal courts ruled against Hall, pointing out they were bound to follow the 2004 Supreme Court ruling. But Fitschen notes there is unique legal irony in how the case reached this point.
"In the Fourth Circuit, the concurring judge asked the Supreme Court specifically to overrule this case. That judge, Judge Richardson, actually clerked for Chief Justice Rehnquist, who wrote that terrible opinion in Locke v. Davey,” Fitschen says. “Also, Josh Davey, who was the student in Locke v. Davey, is on our legal team working on Bethany's case. So, he may see justice delayed, but justice still in fact."
While Hall's case specifically targets Virginia's funding program, legal advocates emphasize that the outcome could impact similar tuition assistance programs nationwide. Fitschen explains why non-Virginians should pay attention.
"Many, many states have these programs. For example, Alabama, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina ... They are all over the country. And so, it's going to make a huge difference. We may be talking about a $100 million a year, maybe more like $300 million a year, for students of faith," Fitschen says.
The Supreme Court receives thousands of petitions each term and typically accepts about 1% of them. Fitschen's legal team is hoping the high court will choose to take up the case when its new term begins in October.
