UC had not yet been served with the suit, so spokeswoman Ravi Poorsina said she could not comment on its details. But she said the university had a sound legal right to set course requirements for incoming students.
"What we're doing is really for the benefit of the students," she said. "These requirements were established after careful study by faculty and staff to ensure that students who come here are fully prepared with broad knowledge and the critical thinking skills necessary to succeed."
Although private schools have the right to teach what they want, she said, students from those institutions can gain admittance to UC schools by completing the necessary course requirements at community colleges if they choose.
Those students can also request admission solely on the basis of their SAT scores, she said.
But according to the lawsuit, the odds are heavily stacked against students seeking admission through that route.
The suit also accuses the university system of employing a double standard by routinely approving courses that teach the viewpoints of other religions, such as Islam, Judaism and Buddhism.
The lawsuit mentions five Calvary Chapel students, identified only by their initials, all with outstanding academic and extracurricular records, who it contends will not qualify for admission because of the university's course requirements. The suit accuses the UC Board of Regents and five university officials of violating the plaintiffs' rights to freedom of speech and religion, and of displaying hostility toward Christianity.
It seeks an injunction against the university system's practices.
