Concerns Over New Education Bill

While I may not be up on the roof anymore, my eyes are still on the horizon, and what’s coming from Washington raises alarms for anyone who values purpose, service, and freedom of religion.

It’s called the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” It sounds good, right? But beneath that impressive title lies a policy aimed at punishing Christian higher education and the students who choose faith over financial gain.

Initially, this law claims to promote responsible education. However, the fine print reveals a different narrative.

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This bill proposes that universities, especially Christian ones, will be evaluated based on their graduates’ earnings in comparison to those who drop out of high school. If your career path doesn’t yield a hefty salary—like in teaching, pastoring, or social work—then your degree will be deemed of little value. Consequently, the institutions that prepared you? They’ll face financial penalties.

This isn’t reform; it’s economic discrimination against those pursuing purpose-driven education.

To break it down further:

• Christian universities, which train future leaders in ministry, mission work, mental health, and community development, will incur millions in penalties simply because their graduates are focused on service rather than profit.
• The government plans to impose a loan cap that could hinder first-generation, low-income students from attending their chosen universities.
• They aim to eliminate Grade Plus loans, cut parental aid, and restrict grant access for part-time students.
• Faith-based institutions that operate based on Bible values but aren’t affiliated with specific denominations might lose crucial religious exemptions due to new tax regulations. This is essentially an attack on religious freedom cloaked as tax reform.

Let me clarify: I support accountability and believe in stewardship. Yet, this bill doesn’t just affect some; it harms the institutions that serve the masses and prepare graduates for vital roles in society.

It punishes schools where graduates choose to become counselors instead of consultants, church planters over corporate climbers, and healers rather than hustlers.

A nation that only rewards profit-driven paths isn’t one that fulfills essential needs. What’s needed is a space where purpose holds as much weight as profit.

A third of CCCU schools have Pell Grant recipients, a third are first-generation college students, and more than half come from families earning under $50,000 a year. They do not require Congress to further complicate their journey; they need support to flourish.

From the south side of Chicago, I’m naming this what it is: a bill that sounds beautiful on the surface but can cause significant harm.

Let’s not dismantle schools that prioritize integrity, character, and Christlike service. Don’t choke the pipeline of hope that flows from our classrooms into communities across this nation.

Christian colleges aren’t exclusive institutions. They stand as beacons in some of the darkest areas of our culture.

In this time of moral and public turmoil, it’s crucial to pause and reflect before extinguishing these lights.