FEDLAW
Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII)
Clergy Housing Allowance Clarification Act
HEOA change to Accreditation Text in 10 USC 1099b which protects religious mission
See text in
blue below to see the change that became effective August 14, 2008, and is geared toward protection of the IHE's stated mission, including religious mission. (note: entire text of 20 USC 1099b is not printed here.) See also the
NAICU page on Accreditation and HEA.
1099b. Recognition of accrediting agency or association(a) Criteria required
No accrediting agency or association may be determined by the Secretary to be a reliable authority as to the quality of education or training offered for the purposes of this chapter or for other Federal purposes, unless the agency or association meets criteria established by the Secretary pursuant to this section. The Secretary shall, after notice and opportunity for a hearing, establish criteria for such determinations. Such criteria shall include an appropriate measure or measures of student achievement. Such criteria shall require that--
(1) the accrediting agency or association shall be a State, regional, or national agency or association and shall demonstrate the ability and the experience to operate as an accrediting agency or association within the State, region, or nationally, as appropriate;
(2) such agency or association--
(A)(i) for the purpose of participation in programs under this chapter, has a voluntary membership of institutions of higher education and has as a principal purpose the accrediting of institutions of higher education; or
(ii) for the purpose of participation in other programs administered by the Department of Education or other Federal agencies, has a voluntary membership and has as its principal purpose the accrediting of institutions of higher education or programs;
(B) is a State agency approved by the Secretary for the purpose described in subparagraph (A); or
(C) is an agency or association that, for the purpose of determining eligibility for student assistance under this subchapter and part C of subchapter I of chapter 34 of Title 42, conducts accreditation through (i) a voluntary membership organization of individuals participating in a profession, or (ii) an agency or association which has as its principal purpose the accreditation of programs within institutions, which institutions are accredited by another agency or association recognized by the Secretary;
(3) if such agency or association is an agency or association described in--
(A) subparagraph (A)(i) of paragraph (2), then such agency or association is separate and independent, both administratively and financially of any related, associated, or affiliated trade association or membership organization;
(B) subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2), then such agency or association has been recognized by the Secretary on or before October 1, 1991; or
(C) subparagraph (C) of paragraph (2) and such agency or association has been recognized by the Secretary on or before October 1, 1991, then the Secretary may waive the requirement that such agency or association is separate and independent, both administratively and financially of any related, associated, or affiliated trade association or membership organization upon a demonstration that the existing relationship has not served to compromise the independence of its accreditation process;
(4)(A) such agency or association consistently applies and enforces standards that respect the stated mission of the institution of higher education, including religious missions, and that ensure that the courses or programs of instruction, training, or study offered by the institution of higher education, including distance education or correspondence courses or programs, are of sufficient quality to achieve, for the duration of the accreditation period, the stated objective for which the courses or the programs are offered; and
(B) if such agency or association has or seeks to include within its scope of recognition the evaluation of the quality of institutions or programs offering distance education or correspondence education, such agency or association shall, in addition to meeting the other requirements of this subpart, demonstrate to the Secretary that--
(i) the agency or association's standards effectively address the quality of an institution's distance education or correspondence education in the areas identified in paragraph (5), except that--
(I) the agency or association shall not be required to have separate standards, procedures, or policies for the evaluation of distance education or correspondence education institutions or programs in order to meet the requirements of this subparagraph; and
(II) in the case that the agency or association is recognized by the Secretary, the agency or association shall not be required to obtain the approval of the Secretary to expand its scope of accreditation to include distance education or correspondence education, provided that the agency or association notifies the Secretary in writing of the change in scope; and
(ii) the agency or association requires an institution that offers distance education or correspondence education to have processes through which the institution establishes that the student who registers in a distance education or correspondence education course or program is the same student who participates in and completes the program and receives the academic credit;
Executive Order 13279
Equal Protection of the Laws for Faith Based and Community Organizations
This Executive Order signed by the President on Dec.12, 2002 insures equal protection for faith-based and community organizations administering social service programs supported with federal funds. Guidlines principles for federal agencies administering the programs are contained in the order, including the principle that no organization is to be discriminated against on the basis of religion or religious belief in the distribution of federal financial assistance under social service programs. Executive Order 11246 is amended by this Executive Order. The religious organization exemption that exists in EO 11246 is expanded to clarify that religious corporations, associations, educational institutions and societies that are federal contractors or subcontractors are allowed to exercise a preference in hiring for co-religionists. This exemption is the same as the religious exemption that exists in Title VII. As there has from time to time been confusion about the nature of the Title VII exemption, EO 13279 serves to clarify the breadth of the Title VII exemption.
Recent Cases of Interest
Carroll College Inc. v. NLRB
No. 07-1315 United States Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit
In this case the court held the Board had no jurisdiction to order Carroll College to bargain with the union, and that the court had authority to invalidate the Board's order even though the college did not raise its jurisdictional challenge in the earlier proceedings. The court cited University of Great Falls v NLRB and held the Board's approach had involved the sort of intrusive inquiry that the Supreme Court had sought to avoid in NLRB v. Catholic Bishop of Chicago. The three part test from Great Falls states that a school is exempt from NLRB jurisdiction if it 1) holds itself out to students, faculty and the community as providing a religious educational environment; 2) is organized as a *nonprofit*; and 3) is affiliated with or owned, operated or controlled, directly or indirectly, by a recognized religious organization, or with an entity, membership of which is determined, at least in part, with reference to religion.
This test is found to "ensure that schools claiming the Catholic Bishop exemption are bona fide religious institutions, while avoiding the Board inquiry into the substance and contours of their religious beliefs and missions."
Selected Cases Under Religious Issues
updated 3/16/09 mlo to add Carroll College case; and archive older cases, see the arrow link above
Last Revised 16-Mar-09 10:46 AM.
