Attorneys for Liberty University student Bethany Hall filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court on August 11, asking the justices to overturn Locke v. Davey, a 2004 decision that allows states to exclude students in religious studies programs from public scholarship funds. Hall lost her $5,000 Virginia Tuition Assistance Grant after changing her major from Music Education to Music and Worship, and a lower appeals court upheld the state's denial in May.
The petition argues Locke is out of step with three more recent Supreme Court rulings that found states cannot exclude religious options from otherwise available public benefits. The Court has not yet said whether it will hear the case, a decision expected sometime this fall.