A greater number of college students could be eligible for a state grant when classes start this fall. One of the last actions of the General Assembly before the legislative session ended in July was to pass a bill that increases eligibility, ending what some have labeled a discriminatory practice.

The bill, H150, allows for students who are residents of North Carolina and attend certain accredited private institutions to obtain a grant worth $1,800 per academic year. Sponsored by Reps. Paul Stam, R-Apex; Bill Owens, D-Elizabeth City; and Rick Eddins, R-Raleigh, it has passed both the House and Senate and now awaits Gov. Mike Easley’s signature.

Currently, all North Carolina residents enrolled full-time in a private college accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools may receive the funds. But those who study at Roanoke Bible College and Southeastern College of Wake Forest are now excluded.

“This measure is necessary because existing law discriminates against certain institutions,” Stam said.

Both Roanoke Bible College and Southeastern College have the same secular accreditation as other private universities. They also train public schoolteachers, among the other traditional academic pursuits.

Their exclusion from the program meant to help North Carolina college students who chose a private higher education was a point of heated contention on the floor of the House, where it passed narrowly. The Senate voted for the bill by a wide margin after the House debate.

“I think the difference was that the more people studied it, the more they realized it was an issue of basic fairness. Legislators just needed some time to read the briefs and study it all a bit more,” Stam said.

Sponsors of the change say the Bill of Rights of the state Constitution is violated by the rule students from the two colleges are ineligible for the grant. The state is not permitted to discriminate against anyone on the basis of religion. No matter the final outcome, students and parents of public colleges will continue to receive the better financial deal.

Currently, North Carolina taxpayers pay $9,500 per full-time equivalent to 14 of the 16 institutions within the University of North Carolina system. The two “flagship” schools, the UNC at Chapel Hill and NC State University, receive funding of $14,000 per student from the state.

The two colleges in question are accredited like other private universities. They were excluded from the grant in part because of their religious affiliation. Much of the legislative argument arose from connections to institutions that do not receive subsidies. Although owned by a seminary, for example, Southeastern has secular accreditation and is not limited to religious instruction.

That grants are issued to students and not schools was a basis for claims that the current policy is discriminatory. Supporters also pointed to the Supreme Court case of Witters v. Washington Department of Services for the Blind. This 1986 decision found it was unconstitutional to deny aid to a student studying pastoral theology at an institution that is pervasively sectarian.

The court has ruled that to deny funding to students studying at institutions of faith and support those who express their skepticism means the government is not truly neutral in matters of religion.

The bill, which grew less controversial as the session drew to a close, was presented to the governor July 19. If Easley signs it, about 250 students who had not been eligible will qualify for the grant.

Jones is an editorial intern at Carolina Journal.