The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to try the University of Wisconsin’s appeal after a previous ruling required funding for a Catholic student organization’s religious activities, a decision that essentially ends the university’s appeals process.

The decision comes after the Board of Regents filed a request to appeal the September 2010 Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that said UW violated the group’s First Amendment rights when UW refused to provide funding for religious activities.

University Legal Counsel Nancy Lynch said in a statement UW is
disappointed by the court’s decision not to grant the petition to review
the circuit court decision.

The statement said UW had been seeking guidance for all institutions
in similar situations and will respect the court’s decision. The statement did not indicate if the university is going to seek further legal action and said UW would “respect the court’s decision and will move forward.”

While the Student Services Finance Committee initially granted Badger Catholic’s budget in 2007, UW administration ruled to decline $35,000 of the $253,000 budget, citing the necessity for a separation of church and state.

Badger Catholic, formerly known as The Roman Catholic Foundation, previously filed a lawsuit against UW in November 2006, which was settled in May 2007. The settlement ruled UW was required to fund the 2007-2008 budget.

The student organization filed another suit in September 2007 after UW failed to fund the group’s religious activities. This case eventually resulted in a court of appeals ruling in favor of Badger Catholic, stating UW could not deny funding for activities relating to prayer, worship or proselytizing.

Nico Fassino, president of the Badger Catholic Board of Directors, said he was very happy to see the Supreme Court affirm the previous three decisions in favor of Badger Catholic in the lower courts.

Fassino, a UW junior, said the event is not only a victory for Badger Catholic, but also a move in a positive direction toward reintroducing a broader range of services to students.

He said the initial lawsuit against UW was not about money, but rather about setting a nationwide precedent for funding allocations for faith-based student groups.

“We wanted to make sure faith-based student organizations can provide meaningful services to students,” Fassino said. “This has established an effective working relationship with the university and there is no more bad blood.”

He added the group looks to reinstate programs that were previously discontinued, including large weekly meetings and biannual faith retreats for members and will begin work on the 2011-12 budget during the summer.

SSFC Chair Matt Manes said the Associated Students of Madison provides a limited public forum and currently has no restrictions on the types of services student groups can provide with student segregated fee funds.

“[Badger Catholic] provides direct service in terms of our criteria and if programming happens to have a religious tone, so be it,” Manes said.

He said the group’s next budget would be up for consideration in budgetary hearings after the deadline for applications next fall. He said student organizations have to meet 19 specific criteria for eligibility in order to get budget approval for the next fiscal year.