HANNIBAL — A private Christian university has filed a federal lawsuit challenging a federal regulation that the university claims unconstitutionally interferes with its religious governance and jeopardizes its access to federal student aid.
The lawsuit focuses on a recently implemented regulation, referred to by Hannibal-LaGrange University as the “Co-Signature Mandate,” which requires any entity with the authority to appoint a university’s board of trustees to co-sign the school’s Program Participation Agreement (PPA) or designate an agent to do so, according to the complaint filed May 28 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.
Without such a co-signature, an institution is barred from participating in Title IV federal student aid programs.
HLGU, which is affiliated with the Missouri Baptist Convention, argues that the regulation is not only unauthorized by the Higher Education Act, which limits PPAs to agreements between institutions and the Secretary of Education, but also infringes on religious liberties protected under the First and Fifth Amendments, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and the doctrine of church autonomy.
“HLGU and other religious institutions should not have to choose between adhering to their religious convictions and accessing the federal aid programs their students rely on,” University President Dr. Robert Matz said in a statement. “This mandate creates a chilling precedent for religious autonomy and must be addressed through the courts.”
The Missouri Baptist Convention, which selects HLGU’s trustees during its annual two-day meeting in October, is an incorporated voluntary association of churches.
HLGU alleges that under its religious structure, MBC cannot take action such as signing federal contracts or delegating authority outside its annual meeting, and even if it could, it would be unlikely to do so due to religious objections to the federal involvement.
“Demanding that Missouri Baptist Churches give up their religious rights or face financial ruin is contrary to the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act,” Jon Whitehead, counsel for HLGU, said. “This regulation threatens the religious autonomy of Baptist, Catholic, and other denominational institutions, and undermines longstanding principles of nonprofit governance.”
In May, after the department refused to accept HLGU’s updated PPA without a signature or designation from the MBC, HLGU formally requested a religious accommodation.
During a subsequent videoconference, department officials acknowledged HLGU’s concerns but said they remained bound by the regulation.
The department offered an alternative, that the MBC designate someone, such as HLGU’s president, to sign the agreement on its behalf. HLGU contends that this proposed workaround still imposes a substantive burden on its religious governance.
The university argues that it has already lost $500,000 in federal Pell Grant funds designated for its prison education program, “Freedom on the Inside,” which offers a bachelor’s degree in Christian Studies to incarcerated men in Missouri.
The department has declined to approve the program’s eligibility due to the unresolved PPA issue.
Without a resolution, HLGU expects to lose another $250,000 in funding each semester going forward and may be entirely excluded from Title IV funding by 2026.
HLGU is seeking declaratory and injunctive relief to block enforcement of the mandate.
The university has asked the court to declare the regulation unlawful, prevent the Department from conditioning Title IV participation on any action by the MBC, and award damages for lost Pell Grant revenue.
The university argues that the department’s treatment of the MBC as an “owner” or controlling entity of HLGU is legally and factually incorrect, and that it violates established precedents regarding religious independence and the governance structures of nonprofit religious institutions.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri case number: 2:25-cv-00042
