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Atheists Sue to Stop Alaska Christian College Grants
SOLDOTNA, AK (April 28, 2005) - Alaska Christian College (ACC), a school run
by the Evangelical Covenant Church of Alaska, has found itself in the
center of a dispute between the U.S. government and activists for the
separation of church and state.
At issue are more than $1 million in start-up grants to the school and a
related counseling center over the last two years.
In a move that has gained international attention, the Madison, WI-based
Freedom From Religion Foundation filed suit on April 21 against the U.S.
Department of Education, charging that the grants to ACC were
unconstitutional. The group argues that funding violates the
Constitution because ACC "promotes whole-life discipleship, including
teaching from the Bible and teaching about faith in Christ."
The suit also argues that the funding was inappropriate because only 37
students attend, and the school is not yet accredited. The two-year
school is in the process to be accredited in 2007. The foundation hopes
to stop the disbursement of $430,000 that ACC is scheduled to receive
this year.
Keith Hamilton, ACC president, said that the funds were awarded as a
result of a "rigorous granting process," which includes detailed plans
of how the money was to be spent. Nearly a third of the funds were
designated for the $350,000 for the school's counseling center and came
from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
"Throughout this granting process," Hamilton said, "ACC has acted with
integrity and honesty and spent the money in the manner that has been
approved by the Department of Education."
ACC, whose student body is primarily Alaskan Native and Native American,
was established in 2000 to assist students in making the transition from
village life to their first year of college. Currently a small minority
– estimated at less than 5 percent – of Alaska Native high school
graduates complete even their first semester of college.
Most of the ACC students come from small and remote villages. They
benefit greatly in the transition process that ACC offers, Hamilton
said. ACC also operates a second-year "encore" program in cooperation
with nearby Kenai Peninsula College. Students can pursue their degree at
this public college while still living in the Christian school dorm.
"There are emotional, intellectual, spiritual, physical, and social
components in people's lives," Hamilton said. "ACC's mission is to give
students opportunities to grow in these areas through mentoring,
academics, tutoring, career assessment, Bible learning, Native
community, and counseling." This weekend, twenty-seven students will
participate in ACC's graduation ceremony.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation has a long history of suing over
issues it believes violates the "establishment clause" of the first
Amendment. In 1994, the foundation sued the federal government to have
"In God We Trust" removed from U.S. currency. Dating back to 1985, the
organization also has sued to have the Ten Commandments removed from
public property.
Whether the lawsuit will ultimately be successful has legal experts
divided, according to the online news service, Inside Higher Ed.com.
While ACC's course content is primarily religious, that doesn't
necessarily violate the establishment clause, according to Notre Dame
University law professor Richard Garnett.
Garnett told Insider Higher Ed.com that a federal judge would have to
weigh out the school's Christian character with its mission to assist
Native students. ACC's efforts to "increase the matriculation of Native
American high school students could plausibly be seen as a secular
purpose," even if the course content itself may be difficult to defend
constitutionally, Garnett said.
Hamilton believes that ACC's grants will eventually be found
constitutional. "We believe the Department of Education's funding of ACC
and other colleges is appropriate and furthers the Department's goals of
assisting all Americans to realize their full potential," he said.
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
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