Covenant News

Efforts Seek to Restore ACC Funding

SOLDOTNA,AK (October 17, 2005) - The attorney representing Alaska Christian College (ACC) says the institution is working with the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) to reinstate more than $431,000 in federal funding the department suspended a week ago.

The school is working with the DOE and the White House Office of Faith Based Initiatives to develop a corrective action plan, says the college's attorney, Derek Gaubatz. "We are confident that at the end of that process, we will come up with a plan that allows funding to return to the school and satisfies all concerned."

The DOE ruled in a determination letter that money it initially appropriated for the school violated the separation of church and state. During the last three years, Alaska's congressional delegation had obtained a little more than $1 million for the school through earmarked funds, including the $431,000. That allocation accounts for 34 percent of the school's budget, says Keith Hamilton, ACC president.

Gaubatz contends the determination letter "seriously misstates existing Establishment Clause precedent." For example, challenges to the funding continually claim that the school cannot receive funds because the school has a 'religious purpose' behind its mission. "But that is not the law, under either the Establishment Clause or the applicable DOE regulations."

Gaubatz adds that if the department's reasoning was upheld, "then no religiously affiliated school could ever get any government money because anything that such a school does would be 'tainted' by its religious mission." Those schools would have to "strip the faith out of its program – the very element that makes the program effective – in order to receive government money."

The DOE began investigating the funding after a lawsuit was filed April 21 by the Freedom From Religion Foundation based in Madison, Wisconsin. The group argued that the funding violated the separation of church and state because ACC "promotes whole-life discipleship, including teaching from the Bible and teaching about faith in Christ." The law allows funding to be used for non-religious activities, Gaubatz says. The school maintains the money is not used for religious purposes, but is used for scholarships and activities such as tutoring.

Scholarships were not able to be extended to many students because of the withholding of funds, Hamilton says. "That's what has taken the biggest hit." The school has been able to retain its staff and has not had to reduce programs. Some future projects have had to be delayed, however.

Hamilton says the school, which was established in 2000, helps students transition from village life to their first year of college. Less than five percent of Alaska Native high school graduates complete even their first semester of college, statistics show.

Gaubatz also takes issue with the department's determination that students are forced to participate in religious activities against their will, saying, "The DOE ignores, however, that every Native Alaskan student who attends ACC has done so voluntarily and has selected ACC over other schooling options in the state that offer a completely secular curriculum."

Gaubatz is the director of litigation for The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which helps organizations with First Amendment issues.

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