The University of Montana School of Law has agreed to stop discrimination against a Christian group in its allocation of student funds.  

Prior to this, the leftist dominated school administration and student government had denied funding to the student chapter of the Christian Legal Society on the basis of its religious and political viewpoints.

In response, the group filed a lawsuit, assisted by the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian legal aid group. 

"Student group funding should not depend upon agreement with the group's viewpoints," says Christian Legal Society Senior Counsel Kim Colby.

"Before the lawsuit, the funding system lacked constitutionally required safeguards to ensure student fees were being distributed neutrally. In fact, the school conceded that the student government had considered the popularity of a group's views. Under the settlement, this will change."

Anticipating that they would lose the lawsuit, on the basis of the First Amendment, the school agreed to change its funding procedures. 

"Every UM student and student group deserves to have their student fees distributed in a manner that complies with the First Amendment and doesn't favor certain views over others.  This agreement will mean important changes at UM to protect the constitutionally protected rights of all students," says Alliance Defense Fund Senior Legal Counsel Casey Mattox.

The agreement will force the school to distribute funds, collected from student fees, in an equal, fair, and nondiscriminatory manner.  Now that they are assured that their rights will be respected, the Christian Legal Society is agreeing to end the lawsuit.

The fact that the group was forced to sue a law school of all places to respect their first amendment rights shows the degree to which our education system been taken over by the far left.  Conservative groups should not need lawsuits to have our rights respected. 

Christian students pay student fees like everyone else.  There's no reason they are not allowed to organize on campus, have meeting space, be listed on the school's website, and have all the other options available to them as to the liberal groups on campus.

Is your group being discriminated against by your administration or student government association?  Contact your Regional Field Coordinator to learn about the legal resources you can use to ensure fair treatment for your conservative group on campus.