ADF Helps Prevent Shut-Down Of Wyo. Bible Colleges
Legal Analysis By ADF Attorneys Prompts New Law
Protecting Bible Colleges From Intrusive Government
Regulation
Monday, March 08, 2010
CHEYENNE, Wyoming, March 8, 2010 — A
new law signed by Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal Wednesday
fixes a poorly written state statute and prevents the
state from intrusively regulating or closing down Bible
colleges. Letters from the Alliance Defense Fund
to officials with the Wyoming Department of Education
on behalf of two Bible schools helped prompt the bill
that led to the amendment.
“The government shouldn’t seek to regulate
or shut down private Christian schools that are simply
training people for ministry and missionary work,” said
ADF Litigation Counsel Daniel Blomberg. “We
were pleased to represent two Bible colleges before
state legislators and Department of Education officials,
leading to a law which now protects the religious liberty
of Christian schools throughout Wyoming. We applaud
the state’s decisive action to protect First
Amendment rights.”
In 2006, in an attempt to address problems with “diploma
mills,” the state of Wyoming amended a statute
to allow it to regulate purely religious post-secondary
schools. The change resulted in expensive and
extensive regulation of legitimate religious schools,
including a requirement that strangely would have forced
Bible colleges to consider people who don’t believe
in the Bible for teaching positions. However,
state law exempted from licensure many other types
of training institutions, including leadership, environmental,
and flight schools.
Last year, state officials informed Frontier
School of the Bible that it must seek costly accreditation
or become licensed with the state. Both options
would have forced Frontier to make major and crippling
changes in its Bible training program, but noncompliance
would result in the LaGrange school’s closure. ADF
attorneys sent a letter on
the school’s behalf before the closure deadline,
arguing against the constitutionality of the state’s
actions and the amended statute. Working with
the state officials, ADF reached a compromise that
allowed Frontier to continue operations while a legislative
fix was made to the statute.
This year, state officials began investigating Jackson
Hole Bible College. ADF attorneys sent a letter on
JHBC’s behalf to the state, explaining the school’s
rights protected by the Constitution and pointing to
the impending and widely backed legislative fix, which
would quickly resolve the matter once passed.
The fix was Wyoming
House Bill 16, which House Majority Floor Leader
Rep. Ed Buchanan wrote, introduced, and sponsored before
its virtually uncontested passage. On behalf of
Frontier and JHBC, ADF attorneys provided guidance
on the provisions and constitutional integrity of HB
16 and conducted negotiations with the Department of
Education concerning the final language of the bill.
For more than 50 years, Frontier has provided unaccredited
vocational Bible instruction to students preparing
to be missionaries, pastors, and youth ministry workers. To
cut educational costs for students going into low-paying
ministerial careers, Frontier’s staff does not
receive salaries but instead depends on voluntary financial
support. JHBC is a religious instructional ministry
of Community Bible Church in Jackson. It does
not grant degrees and is led by the church’s
pastor to teach principles of Christian leadership
exclusively through religious studies.
ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys
and like-minded organizations defending the right of
people to freely live out their faith. Launched
in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy,
training, funding, and litigation to protect and
preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage,
and the family.
# # #
www.adfmedia.org | twitter.com/adfmedia
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Alliance Defense Fund
15333 North Pima Road Suite 165
Scottsdale, Arizona 85260
Phone: 1-800-TELL-ADF
Fax: 480-444-0025
Website: www.alliancedefensefund.org
Legal Analysis By ADF Attorneys Prompts New Law Protecting Bible Colleges From Intrusive Government Regulation Monday, March 08, 2010
CHEYENNE, Wyoming, March 8, 2010 — A
new law signed by Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal Wednesday
fixes a poorly written state statute and prevents the
state from intrusively regulating or closing down Bible
colleges. Letters from the Alliance Defense Fund
to officials with the Wyoming Department of Education
on behalf of two Bible schools helped prompt the bill
that led to the amendment.
“The government shouldn’t seek to regulate
or shut down private Christian schools that are simply
training people for ministry and missionary work,” said
ADF Litigation Counsel Daniel Blomberg. “We
were pleased to represent two Bible colleges before
state legislators and Department of Education officials,
leading to a law which now protects the religious liberty
of Christian schools throughout Wyoming. We applaud
the state’s decisive action to protect First
Amendment rights.”
In 2006, in an attempt to address problems with “diploma
mills,” the state of Wyoming amended a statute
to allow it to regulate purely religious post-secondary
schools. The change resulted in expensive and
extensive regulation of legitimate religious schools,
including a requirement that strangely would have forced
Bible colleges to consider people who don’t believe
in the Bible for teaching positions. However,
state law exempted from licensure many other types
of training institutions, including leadership, environmental,
and flight schools.
Last year, state officials informed Frontier
School of the Bible that it must seek costly accreditation
or become licensed with the state. Both options
would have forced Frontier to make major and crippling
changes in its Bible training program, but noncompliance
would result in the LaGrange school’s closure. ADF
attorneys sent a letter on
the school’s behalf before the closure deadline,
arguing against the constitutionality of the state’s
actions and the amended statute. Working with
the state officials, ADF reached a compromise that
allowed Frontier to continue operations while a legislative
fix was made to the statute.
This year, state officials began investigating Jackson
Hole Bible College. ADF attorneys sent a letter on
JHBC’s behalf to the state, explaining the school’s
rights protected by the Constitution and pointing to
the impending and widely backed legislative fix, which
would quickly resolve the matter once passed.
The fix was Wyoming
House Bill 16, which House Majority Floor Leader
Rep. Ed Buchanan wrote, introduced, and sponsored before
its virtually uncontested passage. On behalf of
Frontier and JHBC, ADF attorneys provided guidance
on the provisions and constitutional integrity of HB
16 and conducted negotiations with the Department of
Education concerning the final language of the bill.
For more than 50 years, Frontier has provided unaccredited
vocational Bible instruction to students preparing
to be missionaries, pastors, and youth ministry workers. To
cut educational costs for students going into low-paying
ministerial careers, Frontier’s staff does not
receive salaries but instead depends on voluntary financial
support. JHBC is a religious instructional ministry
of Community Bible Church in Jackson. It does
not grant degrees and is led by the church’s
pastor to teach principles of Christian leadership
exclusively through religious studies.
ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.
# # #
www.adfmedia.org | twitter.com/adfmedia
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Alliance Defense Fund
15333 North Pima Road Suite 165
Scottsdale, Arizona 85260
Phone: 1-800-TELL-ADF
Fax: 480-444-0025
Website: www.alliancedefensefund.org