Colorado Christian University has filed a federal lawsuit against the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, contending that the state's student-aid programs discriminate against religious schools and universities.
The lawsuit was filed last week after the commission refused to allow the 90-year-old liberal arts college in Lakewood to participate in Colorado's state-funded student financial aid programs, calling the school "pervasively sectarian."
The school, which has 1,600 students and describes its curriculum as "Christ-centered," argues that its exclusion violates the First Amendment's clause against the free exercise of religion.
It is being represented by the Center for Law and Religious Freedom, the legal branch of the Virginia- based Christian Legal Society, which sent out a news release after the filing.
"Colorado's religiously discriminatory student-aid laws reflect an outdated understanding of 'separation of church and state,' " said Gregory S. Baylor, spokesman for the center.
The suit also argues that the commission permits Denver-based Regis University, a Catholic institution, to participate in state-funded student aid programs. Colorado Christian College follows the Protestant tradition.