You might be interested in the Press Release from the lawfirm handling the student (emphasis mine):
“This is open religious bigotry,” said Kelly Shackelford, chief counsel of Liberty Legal Institute (LLI). “Students are being denied recommendations not because of their competence in understanding evolution, but solely because of their personal religious beliefs.”
LLI discovered that Dr. Michael Dini, a professor of biology at Tech, refuses to write recommendations for students who do not affirm a personal belief in evolution. When acting in his capacity as a professor at a state university, which includes writing recommendations, Dini is a state official. State officials are not legally permitted to ask people to deny their religious beliefs.
Some have argued that the professors should have the academic freedom to do whatever they wish in connection to letters of recommendation.
“No professor has the academic freedom to discriminate against students on the basis of their race, sex, or religious beliefs. That’s illegal,” said Shackelford.
LLI first went to Texas Tech officials to handle the discriminatory policy of the professor. When Tech officials refused to remedy the situation, LLI went to the U.S. Department of Justice. The Justice Department reviewed the situation, and now waits for Texas Tech’s response. Shackelford said he is hopeful that Texas Tech will respond quickly to the situation, despite the fact that professors may argue that their academic freedom is at stake.
“I’m still hopeful that we can work with Texas Tech to rectify this situation and protect the students of Texas Tech from further discrimination,” said Shackelford.
It is really hard to tell. Reading his "Teaching Philosophy" page is kind of revealing to his thinking on education and religion. Here's an excerp:
Undertaking a college education is not without risks. These can be as superficial as wasting time and money on a worthless course, or as enormous as losing one’s entire value system. Just because one pays tuition, one is not guaranteed success or happiness. Nor is one guaranteed that his/her most cherished beliefs will go unchallenged. Indeed, many students find it difficult to communicate with friends and family after completing a college education because they no longer share the same beliefs and values. College has introduced them to new knowledge and new ways of thinking. For many, especially those raised by parents who were not college-educated, college is a time of "de-acculturation," wherein one gives up the culture in which one was raised, and subsequent "re-acculturation" wherein one takes on a new culture. My hope for all of my students is that they will become acculturated in "the life of the mind." This means that they will take responsibility for the quality of their education and for the quality of their thinking. They will base their actions on what they know to be true, rather than on what they wish to be true. They will see learning as its own end, not done for the purpose of passing a test or getting a good grade or getting into a particular career. They will dedicate themselves to their own lifelong education.
He really puts down uneducated people throughout the page which is more typical of an atheist liberal elitists than a devote Christian, and seems to think it is a good thing that students lose their value system, which I would take as their religious upbringing. I may be reading things into what he says, but I wouldn't want this guy teaching my child. Then again I am not the one who determines whether this guy is a good Christian or not.
It would seem that Kelley Shackelford is arguing that Creationism is a religious belief, contrary to some Creations who disavow that claim.
Firing Professor Dini as a perfect example of abuse of power would be a good first step.