Liberty University on Friday sued Gov. Ralph Northam and the director of the body charged with coordinating higher education in the commonwealth over changes to a state-funded tuition assistance program that bars online students from receiving financial aid.
The civil lawsuit, filed in federal court in Lynchburg, alleges state officials discriminated against students in the commonwealth by distinguishing between online and residential students when distributing financial assistance through the Virginia Tuition Assistance Grant program.
The grant program provides tuition assistance to Virginia residents who attend private colleges and universities in the state, including Liberty. Until last year, students enrolled in online classes had been eligible to receive the same amount of grant money as students enrolled in in-person classes.
Three weeks after Liberty University closed its dorms, the school Wednesday reported 41 active COVID-19 cases among its students and employees, an uptick from the 18 cases reported last week.
According to the universityâs online COVID-19 dashboard, which debuted Sept. 16 and is updated weekly, 12 students and 29 employees currently are sick with the respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus. Last week, eight students and 10 employees were sick.
In-person instruction at Liberty ended in late November for much of its 15,000 students. Classes and exams were administered remotely during the final week, and dorms closed in mid-December, but some student-athletes and employees remain on campus.
Liberty University reports 22 active COVID-19 cases newsadvance.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from newsadvance.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Jerry Falwell Jr. dropped his defamation claim against Liberty University on Wednesday, Lynchburg's News & Advance reported. Falwell had sued Liberty in October…