Honor Code adjustments after ABA complaint

[Fido]

http://fox13now.com/2016/08/17/byu-chan ... complaint/

According to a news release from FreeBYU, BYU made the following changes to its Honor Code less than three weeks after the ABA acknowledged the discrimination complaint:

“Observ[ing] the standards of the Honor Code” is now considered “sufficiently compelling grounds to warrant an exception to the university’s ecclesiastical endorsement requirement”
Waiving one’s ecclesiastical privilege is no longer required for an exception
“Unusual” or “extenuating circumstances” are no longer required for current students to receive an exception
A March 2015 addition to the Admission Policy that allows ex-LDS applicants for admission to apply for an exception is now referenced in the Honor Code.
The Honor Code changes only apply to BYU's main campus in Provo, where the J. Reuben Clark Law School is housed.

[Fido]

http://www.law2.byu.edu/news2/aba-rejects-complaint
BYU's official report of the dismissal of the ABA complaint is different that the "FreeBYU" group reported.
We recently received notice that the ABA has rejected the complaint and has closed the matter. The complainant had previously made a similar complaint to Brigham Young University’s regional accreditor—the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities—which was likewise rejected.

In the sltrib story the BYU spokeswoman said that there were some adjustments to the ecclesiastical endorsement exception process, they were made before the ABA had responded. Interesting to note that that complaint is closed and done though.

[byufan4ever]

So what does this all mean?

[Fido]

Here is a summary as short as I can keep it. BYU requires an ecclesiastical endorsement to maintain status as a student. If one decided to leave the LDS church, they lost their ecclesiastical endorsement and therefore lost their status as a student at school. There was a process to apply for an exception but it required extraordinary circumstances to waive the requirement.

So a group of former students formed a group called "FreeBYU" and filed a complaint with the American Bar Association claiming religious discrimination against those changing their religion while attending BYU--specifically the Law School since that is the realm of authority the ABA would have.

BYU made some adjustments to ease the conditions in which one could apply for an ecclesiastical endorsement exception to better allow those who find themselves in that circumstance to work things out and maintain student status. In the meantime, the ACA reviewed the complaint filed by "FreeBYU" and has rejected it. End game? There is no complaint threatening BYU's law school accreditation about religious discrimination.

[hawkwing]

That's a very good and accurate summary, Fido.

[byufan4ever]

So do they still have to get some sort of ecclesiastical endorsement, just not from an LDS bishop/leader? Am I over simplifying this? I don't get why this would be so difficult to solve...

[hawkwing]

So do they still have to get some sort of ecclesiastical endorsement, just not from an LDS bishop/leader? Am I over simplifying this? I don't get why this would be so difficult to solve...

It is solved.

[Fido]

Well, I think this handles the scenario where they go to the "no ecclesiastical leader" scenario. They can apply for a waiver to the requirement--yet still must live the honor code. Before the waiver would be much harder to get but it is somewhat less so now.

[hypercoug]

In the past, BYU has allowed non-LDS students to get baptized and become members of the church, and continue their schooling. This happens all the time. However, a student having a faith transition that leads them away from full participation in the LDS church has had no other option but to "pretend", lest he/she be expelled from school. (In the past, a student couldn't convert from Mormonism to, say, Catholicism, and remain a student).

The door is now open for students in these situations to remain students (provided they comply with the honor code, just like any other non-LDS students do).

Good on FREEBYU for making this issue known and filing a complaint, and good on BYU for making the adjustment to allow these students the chance to continue their educations at BYU.

“We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may"

[Cougarfan87]

In the past, BYU has allowed non-LDS students to get baptized and become members of the church, and continue their schooling. This happens all the time. However, a student having a faith transition that leads them away from full participation in the LDS church has had no other option but to "pretend", lest he/she be expelled from school. (In the past, a student couldn't convert from Mormonism to, say, Catholicism, and remain a student).

The door is now open for students in these situations to remain students (provided they comply with the honor code, just like any other non-LDS students do).

Good on FREEBYU for making this issue known and filing a complaint, and good on BYU for making the adjustment to allow these students the chance to continue their educations at BYU.

“We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may"

Agree. So long as someone who changes religion doesn't actively preach against the Church while in attendance, I wouldn't have a problem with it. That may seem like a double standard, but I have seen the same type of language with other religiously affiliated programs. You can participate and have your own beliefs, but you may not criticize the founding institution's beliefs while you are there as a participant. In my mind, that strikes the appropriate balance between freedom of conscience and the religious private school atmosphere BYU is going for.