Misapplication Of Separation Doctrine

Sat., March 4, 2000

By John Kafentzis johnk@spokesman.com (509) 459-5511

Joshua Davey is a bright young man. He was a valedictorian of his 1999 graduating class at University High School. The state of Washington recognized Davey’s potential and awarded him a Promise Scholarship. Then, the state broke its promise.

Davey chose to go to school at Northwest College in Kirkland, a school affiliated with the Assembly of God church. The college received a $1,125 check from the state for Davey, only to have it taken back several days later when the state found Davey had declared theology as one of his majors.

It’s a matter of separation of church and state, said officials in Olympia.

Apparently, it never occurred to them that they had granted the scholarship for Davey to go to a church-affiliated school in the first place.

Giving students a scholarship to a college with ties to a church and expecting none of them would choose a religious degree is a little like sending someone to engineering school with the stipulation that they take only liberal arts courses.

Of all the majors offered by state and private institutions of higher learning, theology is the only one excluded by the Promise Scholarship program.

Yet the state is no stranger to teaching about religion. Most of the state’s universities offer a religious studies degree. One university offers a degree in the study of a specific religion.

As a practical matter, circumventing the ban on theology majors would be easy. The scholarship is only good for two years. It would be simple to wait until after the second year to declare or change majors. Davey declared his major when he started school, which is unusual. Perhaps he is more focused than most freshmen. Or maybe he just wanted to test the ban. It really doesn’t matter. The rule is a bad one.

Davey’s case isn’t about separation of church and state. It’s about diversity and the freedom to pursue one’s higher education interests. If a school meets the state’s accreditation standards, then students should be able to take any course of study they wish.

The scholarship program, created last year by Gov. Gary Locke, offers help for students in the top 10 percent of their class. Last year, the first year of the program, 2,300 students were awarded scholarships to attend accredited public or private schools.

It’s great program. It helps defer the high cost of education and it keeps many top students in the state. Let’s not stifle our best and brightest young minds by restricting what they can learn.

Local journalism is essential.

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