Report Claims Biden-Harris Administration Targeted Christian Schools

A new report claims that nearly 70% of enforcement actions by the Biden administration’s Department of Education (ED) have been aimed at faith-based and career schools, even though these schools serve less than 10% of U.S. students.

The report, shared by the conservative group American Principles Project (APP), accuses the administration of unfairly targeting these institutions.

Allegations of Bias

Jon Schweppe, APP’s policy director, said the Biden administration has used government agencies to go after political opponents. “The Democrats have been weaponizing the government to target their opponents,” he said.

Schweppe also warned that actions by the Department of Education should not be overlooked, even though the Department of Justice often gets more attention.

APP claims that the Department of Education has been punishing Christian colleges for having values that clash with the administration’s policies. “This unfair targeting must stop immediately,” Schweppe said.

Focus on Christian Schools

The report says, actions taken against well-known Christian universities like Grand Canyon University (GCU) and Liberty University. These schools were hit with record-breaking fines that were larger than penalties given to other schools for serious scandals.

For instance, GCU was fined $37.7 million in 2022 over accusations that it misled students about the cost of its doctoral programs.

This fine is much higher than penalties issued to schools like Penn State ($2.4 million) and Michigan State ($4.5 million), which were fined for mishandling sexual abuse scandals.

In a Congressional hearing earlier this year, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona criticized for-profit schools like GCU, saying they “prey on first-generation students.” The APP report argues that this reflects bias against Christian schools.

The report also says that at least 12 Christian colleges have faced harsh penalties or lost access to federal student aid. By comparison, no Ivy League schools have faced similar actions.

The average fine for a Christian school’s violation of federal rules was $815,000, much higher than the $228,571 average fine for other institutions.

GCU recently won a legal case against the Department of Education over its nonprofit status. A federal court ruled that the department wrongly denied the university this status and sent the case back for further review.

The Department of Education has pushed back against APP’s report. A spokesperson said, “A school’s religious affiliation or nonprofit status does not affect how we enforce the rules. Our top priority is protecting students.”

The department also accused APP of twisting facts and presenting a false narrative.