Yale Law School policy may discriminate against Christian groups, Sen. Ted Cruz says

FILE: Subcommittee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speaks during a Senate subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, March 27, 2019, in Washington. (Associated Press)

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has opened an investigation into Yale Law School over a decision to expand its nondiscrimination policy to certain organizations’ hiring practices – a move he contends may be aimed against Christians.

Per the school’s “nondiscrimination policy,” students who are affiliated with or work for organizations deemed discriminatory will not gain access to certain funds. The policy was recently expanded to cover summer public interest fellowships, post-graduate public interest fellowships, and loan forgiveness for careers in public interest, according to LifeSite News.

In February, members of the Yale Federalist Society invited a lawyer from the Christian law firm Alliance Defending Freedom to speak on campus, a move that enraged Yale’s LGBT group “Outlaws.”

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Outlaws wrote to school administrators demanding that it expand its discrimination policy to Christian groups, given some Christian groups' stance on gay rights.

“[W]e are asking the Yale Law School administration to clarify its [Summer Public Interest Fellowship (‘SPIF’)] and admissions policies regarding organizations that discriminate against members of its community,” the group wrote.

On March 25, the school sent an email to its students announcing an expansion of nondiscrimination policy.

In a letter last Thursday to Yale Law’s Dean Heather Gerken, Cruz wrote: “(It) appears that the policy arose from unconstitutional animus and a specific discriminatory intent both to blacklist Christian organizations like the Alliance Defending Freedom and to punish Yale students whose values or religious faith lead them to work there.”

Cruz told Gerken that the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution is opening an investigation, a possible “referral to the Department of Justice for action against the law school.”

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According to the Yale Daily News, administrators insisted that the policy applies solely to organizations’ “hiring practices” and not its “values,” adding that it “enthusiastically supports the efforts of Jewish, Catholic, Muslim, liberal, and conservative groups to hire our students.”

Cruz said the investigation may include a subpoena or a referral to the Department of Justice for action against Yale Law School.