University settles student’s lawsuit

The Kansas City Star reports:

Missouri State University has settled a lawsuit filed by a graduate who claimed her freedoms of speech and religion had been violated.

The university agreed to pay Emily Brooker, a May 2006 graduate, $9,000. Officials also said she could attend Missouri State to pursue a master’s degree in social work free of charge for two years — equivalent to about $12,000. In addition, Brooker could receive $3,000 per year in living expenses for two years of graduate education.

MSU also agreed to clear Brooker’s official record of a high-level grievance filed against her by the university’s School of Social Work.

“We acted on these allegations as soon as we became aware of them,” MSU President Michael T. Nietzel said in a statement this week. “… Although our investigation did not support all of the allegations made in the lawsuit, we were concerned about some of the actions that we did learn about.”

The university learned Oct. 30 about Brooker’s lawsuit and launched an eight-day investigation into her allegations that Frank G. Kauffman, assistant professor of social work for two of Brooker’s required classes, had violated the student’s rights.

The university negotiated the settlement with the Alliance Defense Fund, which represented Brooker. Alliance Defense Fund, based in Scottsdale, Ariz., is a conservative legal team that often takes religious freedom cases.

The lawsuit alleged that Kauffman demanded that students sign a letter supporting homosexuals being foster parents. Brooker refused to sign the letter, which was written by Kauffman, because she said the issue it supported went against her Christian beliefs. The lawsuit also said Brooker had voiced her concerns about the letter during class and had agreed to do a project on a different subject.

Your tax dollars at work.