Court Upholds Dismissal of Counseling Student Who Would Not Counsel Gays

Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Religion Clause

In Ward v. Wilbanks (ED MI, July 26 2010), a Michigan federal district court upheld Eastern Michigan University's dismissal of a student from its graduate program in counseling because of her objections to counseling clients on their same-sex relationships, in violation of professional counseling standards. Julea Ward's Christian beliefs precluded her from affirming relationships which she believed were inconsistent with Biblical teachings. The court concluded that the university's policy is not a speech code, but is an integral part of the curriculum. It held that in a university setting, restricting or compelling speech that occurs in a classroom as part of the curriculum will be upheld so long as it serves a rational pedagogical purpose. According to the court:

The University had a rational basis for adopting the ACA Code of Ethics into its counseling program, not the least of which was the desire to offer an accredited program. Furthermore, the University had a rational basis for requiring its students to counsel clients without imposing their personal values. In the case of Ms. Ward, the University determined that she would never change her behavior and would consistently refuse to counsel clients on matters with which she was personally opposed due to her religious beliefs - including homosexual relationships. The University offered Ms. Ward the opportunity for a remediation plan, which she rejected. Her refusal to attempt learning to counsel all clients within their own value systems is a failure to complete an academic requirement of the program. the rest