The Department of Justice Civil Rights Division announced in a press release yesterday that it has entered a voluntary settlement agreement with Lincoln Memorial University, resolving complaints of discriminatory treatment of Jewish students. The private university is located in Harrogate, Tennessee. The press release says in part:
... [D]uring the 2025-26 school year, LMU’s DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine (LMU-DCOM) denied requests by Jewish students to reschedule classes, exams, and other academic assignments so they could celebrate or observe their religious holidays, but granted requests by non-Jewish students who sought the same accommodations. In January 2026 — after Jewish students challenged LMU-DCOM’s double standard — DCOM adopted a policy that it would not accommodate any religious observance requests, but would permit excused absences for “professional student leadership obligations” and other non-religious reasons. In February 2026, DOJ and HHS opened their joint investigation.
Under the settlement agreement, LMU-DCOM will revise its absence policy to allow excused absences for religious reasons on the same basis as non-religious reasons. When an excused absence is approved, the student will not suffer any penalties because of the absence....
