A suit was filed yesterday in federal district court by two related Christian student organization against the University of Iowa. The complaint (full text) in InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/ USA v. University of Iowa, (SD IA, filed 8/6/2018), challenges the University's deregistration of IVCF as a recognized student organization because the group imposes a religious belief requirement on its student leaders. Plaintiffs contend that the University has violated their 1st Amendment rights under the Free Exercise, Establishment and Speech clauses, as well as their rights under various provisions of the Iowa constitution and statutory law. Becket Fund issued a press release announcing the filing of the lawsuit.
UPDATE: On Aug. 14, Becket Fund reported that an agreement has been reached with the University for it to reinstate, while litigation is pending, nearly 40 student groups that had been suspended under this university anti-discrimination policy.
