The U.S. Supreme Court says it won't hear an appeal of a lower court decision to grant a Catholic student group funding from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The decision by the high court effectively ends UW-Madison's appeal process. The university has argued that its funding of Badger Catholic's religious activities is a violation of the First Amendment.

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed in a 2-1 decision last September. The court ruled UW-Madison's refusal to fund the group's religious worship activities or materials constituted viewpoint discrimination by the university.

UW-Madison settled another lawsuit from the group in 2007 after refusing to pay for any of the group's activities.