President Trump announced he would lift a ban on federal funding for faith-based historically black colleges and universities, saying the Department of Justice has found that restriction unconstitutional.
“Today, I’m thrilled to announce another major action we’re taking to protect HBCUs,” Trump said Tuesday at the National Historically Black College and Universities Week in Washington, D.C. “Previously, federal law restricted more than 40 faith-based HBCUs and seminaries from fully accessing federal support for capital improvement projects. This meant that your faith-based institutions, which have made such extraordinary contributions to America, were unfairly punished for their religious beliefs. Did we know that? Did everybody know that? Because it was — it was hap- — that was not good.”
“This week, our Department of Justice has published an opinion declaring such discriminatory restrictions as unconstitutional. It was a big step. And from now on, faith-based HBCUs will enjoy equal access to federal support,” said Trump.
The Justice Department recently determined a restriction on the Department of Education’s “authority to guarantee loans for capital improvements at historically black colleges and universities ‘in which a substantial portion of its functions is subsumed in a religious mission’ violates the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment.”
In making its decision, the Department of Justice cited the Supreme Court’s rulings in Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc. v. Comer and Locke v. Davey, noting that they “establish that the government may not deny generally available funding to a sectarian institution because of its religious character.” The government does, however, retain “discretion to choose what activities to fund.”
