RICHMOND, Va. – Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys representing three Virginia students who were excluded from generally available college grants because they chose certain ineligible religious programs filed their opening brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit Tuesday.
Cameron Johnson, Luke Thomas, and Trace Stevens are challenging the unconstitutional policies of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia and the Virginia Department of Military Affairs that deny tuition grants for programs that state officials deem are for “religious training or theological education.”
“Policies that treat religious students as second-class citizens have no place in our laws,” said ADF Senior Counsel and Vice President of Appellate Advocacy John Bursch. “The First Amendment prohibits the government from excluding students from otherwise available grants solely because they picked religious programs that they believe God called them to pursue. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled three times in the last nine years that these kinds of public benefits can’t be withheld because of the recipient’s religious character, exercise, and use of the benefits. We are urging the court to allow students in Virginia to pursue their educational goals without fear of being punished for their religion.”
The State Council administers the Virginia Tuition Assistance Grant Program, and the Virginia Department of Military Affairs administers the National Guard Tuition Assistance Grant Program, both of which are generally available programs to Virginia college students. But both grant programs exclude students who select certain ineligible religious programs. Two rising sophomores and one graduate student at Liberty University were excluded from those grants solely because of the religious nature of their academic pursuits, even though all three are considering secular as well as religious careers.
“Virginia’s grant programs blatantly violate the First Amendment,” the brief filed in Johnson v. Fleming states. “The Commonwealth has already denied Cameron, Luke, and Trace thousands of dollars in grants based solely on their religious exercise. An injunction is needed to prevent further irreparable harm while this case proceeds…. A few thousand dollars is life-changing for students. But it’s of no consequence to Virginia, which pours millions into [its grant programs] each year.”
Johnson, a 2025 high school graduate who majors in pastoral leadership at Liberty, was denied a VTAG award for his freshman year because of his chosen major. Likewise, Thomas plans on majoring in music and worship at Liberty, but that major is ineligible for VTAG for the same reason. Specialist Stevens, a member of the Virginia Army National Guard, graduated with a degree in religion last summer and is currently in a Master of Divinity program. He seeks to be a military chaplain. Although his religion major was approved for the VTAG award, the Department of Military Affairs still denied him a National Guard Grant, because, in the department’s view, that program is too religious. And his current graduate program is likewise ineligible.
Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life.
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