Illinois Bible Colleges Ass'n v. Anderson
870 F.3d 631
7th Cir.2017Background
- Six religiously affiliated Bible colleges and a student (Leigh Pietsch) sued the Illinois Board of Higher Education challenging three statutes that require approval before private institutions may issue degrees or certain certificates.
- Statutes at issue: Private College Act, Academic Degree Act (both define "degree" broadly), and the Private Business and Vocational Schools Act of 2012 (which exempts purely religious/theological schools from vocational certificate rules).
- The Board reviews institutions on secular criteria (curriculum, faculty credentials, facilities, finances, disclosures) before issuing approval to grant degrees.
- Plaintiffs sought an as-applied, blanket exemption to permit issuing degrees (including bachelor’s, master’s, doctorates) without Board approval; they never applied for state certification.
- District court dismissed under Rule 12(b)(6); plaintiffs appealed only their federal constitutional claims (Establishment, Free Exercise, Free Speech/Association, Equal Protection, and Pietsch’s right to pursue an occupation).
- Seventh Circuit affirmed: statutes are neutral, generally applicable, serve valid secular purposes, and plaintiffs’ claims are premature because they never sought state action via certification.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Establishment Clause | Statutes/definitions (especially broad "degree") unlawfully entangle state with religion and inhibit religious education by regulating degree terminology | Statutes apply to all post-secondary institutions for secular purposes (maintain academic standards); plaintiffs never sought certification so no actual state entanglement occurred | Dismissed — no plausible as-applied Establishment violation; claim premature because plaintiffs never submitted for state review |
| Free Exercise Clause | Licensing and faculty-qualification requirements burden religious exercise and infringe ability to train ministers and describe outcomes | Laws are neutral and generally applicable, regulating secular activity (granting degrees) with rational basis (protect students/employers/degree integrity) | Dismissed — Smith governs; laws survive rational-basis review and do not impose a special disability |
| Free Speech / Association / Hybrid-rights & Ministerial Exception (Hosanna-Tabor) | Statutes prevent religious communication about student achievement, impede association, and interfere with selection of faculty (hybrid claim) | Any speech/association impact is incidental; Board does not regulate religious belief or require hiring/firing choices; no hybrid claim shown | Dismissed — claims premature or meritless; Hosanna-Tabor inapplicable because state does not control ministerial appointments |
| Equal Protection & Pietsch’s right to work | Grandfather clauses treating pre-1945/1961 schools differently discriminate; Pietsch claims right to obtain degree/marketability and pursue chosen profession | Distinctions by founding date are neither suspect nor affect a protected class; rational-basis review applies; no constitutional right to a degree from an unlicensed school | Dismissed — grandfather clauses rational; Pietsch has no constitutional right to force a college to be allowed to confer degrees without complying with statutes |
Key Cases Cited
- Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662 (plausibility standard for pleadings)
- Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544 (pleading standards)
- Lemon v. Kurtzman, 403 U.S. 602 (Establishment Clause test)
- Employment Div. v. Smith, 494 U.S. 872 (neutral, generally applicable laws and Free Exercise)
- Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah, 508 U.S. 520 (targeting religion and strict scrutiny)
- Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer, 137 S. Ct. 2012 (Free Exercise and denial of government benefit to religious entity)
- Locke v. Davey, 540 U.S. 712 (limits on using public funds for devotional theology)
- Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church v. EEOC, 565 U.S. 171 (ministerial exception)
- HEB Ministries v. Tex. Higher Educ. Coordinating Bd., 235 S.W.3d 627 (Tex. S. Ct. decision discussed regarding entanglement)
- State v. Clarksville Sch. of Theology, 636 S.W.2d 706 (Tenn. S. Ct. decision permitting secular regulation of degree-granting)
- N.J. State Bd. of Higher Educ. v. Bd. of Dirs., 90 N.J. 470 (cited via Shelton College analysis)
- Shelton Coll. v. N.J. State Bd. of Higher Educ., 448 A.2d 988 (N.J. S. Ct. decision on licensing and entanglement)
- Civil Liberties for Urban Believers v. City of Chicago, 342 F.3d 752 (7th Cir. on individualized variances and Free Exercise analysis)
- McCann v. City of Chicago, 968 F.2d 635 (7th Cir. on rationality of grandfather clauses)