Ill. Bible Colls. Ass'n v. Anderson
| Decision Date | 28 March 2016 |
| Docket Number | Case No. 15 cv 444 |
| Parties | ILLINOIS BIBLE COLLEGES ASSOCIATION, et al., Plaintiffs, v. LINDSAY K. ANDERSON, Chair of the Illinois Board of Higher Education, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Illinois |
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
Plaintiffs filed a six-count First Amended Complaint against the Illinois Board of Higher Education, through its chairperson, alleging that the Private College Act, 110 ILCS 1005/0.01 et seq., the Academic Degree Act, 110 ILCS 1010/0.01 et seq., and the Private Business and Vocational Schools Act of 2012, 105 ILCS 426/1 et seq., violate the U.S. Constitution and the Illinois Religious Freedom Restoration Act, 775 ILCS 35/5 et seq.. Defendant moves to dismiss the complaint pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim. For the reasons stated herein, the Court grants the motion and dismisses the complaint.
Plaintiffs are the Illinois Association of Bible Colleges, Providence Baptist College, Dayspring Bible College & Seminary, United Faith Christian Institute and Bible College, Civil Liberties for Urban Believers, and student Leigh Pietsch (collectively "the Bible Colleges"). The statutes plaintiffs challenge, the Private College Act, 110 ILCS 1005/0.01 et seq., the Academic Degree Act, 110 ILCS 1010/0.01 et seq., and the Private Business and Vocational Schools Act of 2012, 105 ILCS 426/1 et seq., regulate the operations of certain post-secondary and educational institutions. The Illinois Board of Higher Education administers these statutes. The particular provisions at issue impose certain regulatory requirements that must be satisfied in order for a post-secondary educational institution to issue degrees.
The Private College Act governs privately-operated colleges, junior colleges, and universities that offer degrees. To operate such an institution, the Private College Act requires a certificate of approval from the Illinois Board of Higher Education. 110 ILCS 1005/2. According to the Illinois Administrative Code, the Board of Higher Education may evaluate, among other things, "the caliber and content of each course or program of instruction," the physical plant, the number of credit hours required for undergraduate and graduate degrees, the educational credentials of faculty and applicants, the institution's finances, and the institution's record-keeping. 23 Ill. Adm. Code 1030.30. The statute defines a "degree" as "any designation, appellation, series of letters or words, or other symbol which signifies or purports to signify that the recipient thereof has satisfactorily completed an organized academic program of study beyond the secondary school level." 110 ILCS 1005/1.
The Academic Degree Act defines degree the same way as the Private College Act. See 110 ILCS 1010/2(b). The Academic Degree Act also requires approval by the Board of Higher Education before an institution can be "degree granting." Id. at §3. The Act defines a "degree granting institution" as:
an educational facility maintained by any person, partnership, public or private corporation or public body and operating as a school, academy, institute, private junior college, college, university or entity of whatever kind which furnishes or offers to furnish instruction leading toward or prerequisite to an academic or professional degree beyond the secondary school level, and which requires that in order to obtain a degree the recipient thereof satisfactorily complete an appropriate course of class, laboratory or research study in person under a faculty whose members hold appropriate academic degrees or whose members possess appropriate moral, intellectual and technical skill and competence; however, this definition does not apply to Illinois public tax supported higher education institutions. 110 ILCS 1010/2(a).
Both the Academic Degree Act and the Private College Act contain grandfather clauses, exempting institutions that have been in existence prior to certain dates. See 110 ILCS 1005/2; 110 ILCS 1010/4(a).
The Private Business and Vocational Schools Act of 2012 governs private business and vocational schools and requires approval from the Board of Higher Education. 105 ILCS 426/20. Approved schools may issue "certificates" or "certificates of completion." 105 ILCS 426/15. Before issuing a permit of approval, the Board of Higher Education evaluates schools subject to this act based: the qualifications of Governing Board Members, Owners, and Senior Administrators, faculty and staff; the quality of program delivery; the sufficiency of the institution's finances; the accuracy, clarity, and appropriateness of the program's promotional materials; the sufficiency of the facilities and equipment; the existence of fair and equitable refund policies; the use of appropriate and ethical admissions and recruitment practices; accreditation status; employment in the field of study; legally adequate enrollment agreements; and, clearly communicated tuition and fee charges. Additionally, the institution must explain any legal action against the institution, its owners, board members, etc.; and the school must provide prospective students with a catalog or brochure prior to enrollment. 23 Ill. Adm. Code 1095.40. Schools providing entirely religious or theological education are exempt from the provisions of this Act. 105 ILCS 426/30.
Plaintiffs raise the following allegations in their First Amended Complaint: that the challenged statutes violate the Establishment Clause because mandating approval by the Board of Higher Education to grant "degrees" results in excessive entanglement of government in religious activity (Count I); that the challenged statutes violate the Free Exercise Clause by infringing on plaintiffs' religious liberty under both the U.S. Constitution and the Illinois Constitution (Count II); that the statutes and rules regulating the granting of degrees violate plaintiffs' Freedom of Speech guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and the Illinois Constitution (Count III); that the challengedstatutes violate plaintiffs' First Amendment right to freedom of association (Count IV); that the statutes violate the Illinois Religious Freedom Restoration Act, 775 ILCS 35/5 et seq. (Count V); and that the statutes violate the Equal Protection Clause by rendering Bible College students' education less valuable to the community because their course of study is not approved by the Board of Higher Education and the "grandfather clauses" benefit some schools over others (Count VI). Plaintiffs seek exemptions from the challenged statutes.
In order to survive a motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), a complaint must contain sufficient factual allegations to state a claim for relief that is plausible on its face. Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009). Rule 8(a)(2) sets forth the minimum pleading requirements of "a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief....to give the defendant fair notice of what the ...claim is and the grounds upon which it rests." Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007) (quoting Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2)). "A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged." Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678 (citing Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 556 (2007)). When reviewing a motion to dismiss the court must accept all well-pleaded factual allegations in the complaint as true, and draw all reasonable inferences in the plaintiff's favor. Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 94 (2007); Pisciotta v. Old Nat. Bancorp, 449 F.3d 629, 633 (7th Cir. 2007).
Plaintiffs voluntarily dismiss, without prejudice, their state law claims. Thus, this Court will only consider their claims arising from the U.S. Constitution. Defendant asserts that plaintiffs are making a facial challenge to the statutes. However, as this Court reads the allegations it appears that the plaintiffs do not contend that the statutes at issue can never be applied constitutionally andtherefore should not apply to any educational institution, but that the statutes are unconstitutional in their application to the Bible Colleges. See, e.g., Sabri v. United States, 541 U.S. 600, 604 (2004); see also Alex Kreit, Making Sense of Facial and As-Applied Challenges, 18 Wm. & Mary Bill Rts. J. 657 (2010) (Mar. 3, 2016), http://scholarship.law.wm.edu/wmborj/vol18/iss3/4. However, plaintiffs are incorrect in their assertion that defendants' argument for dismissal is applicable only to a facial challenge to the statutes and their motion should be denied on that basis. This Court will consider each Count in turn.
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion." U.S. Const., Amend. 1. Defendant argues that plaintiffs cannot state a claim for a violation of the Establishment Clause because the laws at issue serve the valid secular purpose of insuring that educational institutions, their programs, faculty, and degree granting practices are legitimate based on an evaluation that does not implicate religion. Plaintiffs assert that the statutes mandate state approval to grant degrees and therefore subordinate the Church's responsibility to God in deciding how to properly educate students in religious teaching and excessively entangle the state in religion by establishing the standards for post-secondary religious education and to recognize student attainment.
Courts have long applied the "Lemon test" to determine whether a statute violates the Establishment Clause, and defendant urges this Court to follow suit. Pursuant to Lemon, a statute violates the Establishment Clause if (1) it has no secular purpose, (2) its primary effect advances or...
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