New Jersey Board of Higher Education v. Shelton College

448 A.2d 988, 90 N.J. 470 (1982)

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New Jersey Board of Higher Education v. Shelton College

New Jersey Supreme Court
448 A.2d 988, 90 N.J. 470 (1982)

Facts

Shelton College (Shelton) (defendant) was a private religious college operated by the Bible Presbyterian Church, a fundamentalist Christian church. The college enrolled only approximately 30 students, but the students were passionate about the school’s mission. Shelton began operating in New Jersey in the 1950s. In 1965, the New Jersey Board of Higher Education (the board) (plaintiff) terminated Shelton’s license to issue baccalaureate degrees for failure to comply with licensure requirements. Shelton filed a lawsuit against the board at that time, but the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled in favor of the board, finding that the state had a substantial interest in regulating the issuance of bachelor’s degrees. In 1971, Shelton moved its operations to Florida. In 1979, Shelton applied to again issue baccalaureate degrees in New Jersey in accordance with a New Jersey statute that required all institutions of higher education to obtain a license to issue bachelor’s degrees. Before obtaining a license, Shelton began offering courses toward its bachelor’s degrees. The board filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction to prevent Shelton from offering courses until Shelton received a license. Shelton argued that the licensure requirement was an unconstitutional burden on Shelton’s religious belief that a complete separation between church and state should exist according to the Constitution’s Free Exercise and Establishment Clauses. The trial court ruled in favor of the board, finding that the state statutes that confer licensing authority to the board were constitutional as applied to Shelton. The trial court issued a permanent injunction against Shelton. Shelton appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (O’Hern, J.)

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