The University of California system (representing all the UCs) is being sued by the Association of Christian Schools and the Calvary Chapel Christian School of Murrieta, CA, over their admissions requirements.
UC accepts or rejects specific courses from high schools depending on whether the course content meets their admissions requirements. Recently, UC has rejected some courses that the Calvary Chapel school has proposed because they are based on textbooks that do not conform to standard scientific thinking in areas such as biology (evolution, of course) and physics, but also some courses in English, history, and social studies. The textbooks used in these classes were published by Bob Jones University Press, among other publishers.
The biology textbook to which UC objected states,
"The people who have prepared this book have tried consistently to put the Word of God first and science second." The book claims that Earth was created between 8,000 and 10,000 years ago and concludes, "Rather than being disproved by science, the Scriptural concept of a young Earth is actually verified by science." Yet, modern geologists, based on extensive scientific evidence, consider Earth's age to be around 4.567 billion years.
According to UC,
A spokesperson for the University of California system would not comment on the specific allegations leveled in the complaint, but told the Los Angeles Times that the university was entitled to set course requirements for incoming students, adding, "[t]hese requirements were established after careful study by faculty and staff to ensure that students who come here are fully prepared with broad knowledge and the critical thinking skills necessary to succeed."
UC rejects approximately one-third of courses on first submission to the university, so this is by no means a new tool to use against Christian schools specifically.
UC has asked the court to dismiss the suit.
On Oct. 28, UC asked U.S. District Judge S. James Otero to dismiss the suit. The university was not "stopping plaintiffs from teaching or studying anything," it argued. "This lawsuit is really an attempt to control the regents' educational choices. Plaintiffs seek to constrain the regents' exercise of its First Amendment-protected right of academic freedom to establish admissions criteria."
I believe the University of California will win this suit, but if necessary, they should appeal as high as the Supreme Court. Christian schools have a right to teach what they wish, but they don't have the right to a stamp of approval from the University of California for courses that teach misinformation.
For more information:
SF Chronicle article
National Center for Science Education article including specific complaints
Sacramento Bee editorial