- Court dismisses LGBTQ students’ case.
- Challenged religious exemptions under Title IX.
- Exemptions allow discrimination.
On Thursday, a federal court dismissed a case brought by LGBTQ students who claimed the Department of Education did not shield them from discrimination at more than two dozen colleges and universities with religious affiliations that receive federal funding.
In an effort to challenge the religious exemptions allowed under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which forbids sex-based discrimination in educational programmes or activities that receive federal funding, a group of present and former college students filed the lawsuit last year.
According to the plaintiffs, religiously connected institutions are allowed by the exemptions to discriminate against students based on their sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
The students “sufficiently alleged,” according to Judge Ann Aiken of the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, Eugene Division, who was appointed by former President Bill Clinton, that the exemptions allow “religiously affiliated schools to use religious exemptions to deny federally funded educational services to current and prospective students.” Aiken noted that the lawsuit was dismissed because the students were unable to establish that Congress intended the exemptions to be granted.
“Plaintiffs have made no claims that those who passed the religious exception had discriminatory intent, “She made her choice in writing. “Contrarily, Plaintiffs contend that safeguards for or discrimination against sexual and gender minorities were “of little concern” when Congress passed Title IX.
The Title IX exclusions safeguard “the right of religious schools to carry out their genuinely and sincerely held values,” according to Alliance Defending Freedom, the conservative legal advocacy group that represents the religiously affiliated universities.
David Cortman, an attorney with ADF, said in a statement on Thursday that “a collection of activists petitioned the court to pull that protection away from schools that teach the next generation and advance the common good.” “The court correctly found that none of the plaintiffs’ claimed rights were violated by the religious liberty exemption in Title IX.”
The Religious Exemptions Accountability Project, the legal team defending the students, criticised the judge’s decision and indicated it was considering an appeal.
The organisation claimed in a statement on Friday that “because of today’s decision, tens of thousands of LGBTQIA+ students across the country will continue to be discriminated against at colleges receiving government money.”
Some of the claimants claimed that because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, they were either refused admission to or expelled from the religiously associated universities. Others alleged that the facilities had forced them to undergo the debunked therapy.
Senior at Baylor University Veronica Bonifacio Penales, who was involved in the lawsuit, said the ruling “feels like a slap in the face.”
The battle obviously continues, she said. “We’re not even going to be discouraged by this. This will, if anything, encourage us to work a little bit harder.
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