NY college faces another lawsuit from Christian club over leadership policy
September 10, 2026
Campus Bible Fellowship (CBF) is suing a public New York college for refusing to allow the student organization to require that its leaders be practicing Christians.
The Christian Post reports that the Christian club filed the lawsuit last week in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York, Binghamton Division, against officials with State University of New York’s Broome Community College (SUNY Broome).
The issue stems from SUNY Broome’s antidiscrimination policy, which prohibits CBF and at least one other Christian club from requiring student organization leaders to be professing Christians.
The complaint states: “SUNY Broome refuses to officially recognize CBF as a student club, preventing it from reserving campus space and accessing financial resources.”
According to the Christian Post, the lawsuit accuses the college of violating CBF’s First Amendment rights, saying “other student clubs at SUNY Broome” are allowed to “limit their leadership positions and/or membership rights to select students.”
Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) Senior Counsel Tyson Langhofer, in a statement released Tuesday, said, “The First Amendment ensures that religious organizations are free to select faithful leaders. But SUNY Broome’s policy undermines that right by seeking to control a fundamental aspect of CBF’s governance, doctrine, and faith. Forcing CBF to accept leaders who don’t share their religious beliefs fundamentally alters their religious expression.”
The latest filing follows another lawsuit against SUNY Broome’s antidiscrimination policy filed by InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.
The Broome case is the third time in the past several years that an InterVarsity club has been excluded from a public college for its leadership policy, joining Wayne State University in Michigan and the University of Iowa.
After litigation, federal courts sided with the student groups, according to the Christian Post.
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