Inside Higher Ed | Kathering Knott | Sept. 7, 2023
A group of House Democrats is calling on the Biden administration to clarify the scope of Baylor University’s religious exemptions under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.
Religious colleges and universities can seek an exemption from Title IX rules, which bar gender-based discrimination in federally funded education, if the requirements aren’t consistent with the religious tenets of the organization that controls the institution. Baylor asserted its exemption in May after the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights began investigating complaints that the university tolerated sexual harassment based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
The Education Department affirmed that Baylor is exempt from Title IX provisions relating to the harassment of LGBTQ+ students in a letter that became public last month—a move that one advocacy group said was a first for the department and could endanger queer students at the university.
“Without additional clarification, the Department’s letter may suggest Baylor University qualifies for sweeping exemptions from various Title IX provisions, including protections against sexual harassment and other sex-based harassment,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter sent this week to the Education Department.
California representatives Adam Schiff and Mark Takano signed the letter along with Texas representatives Joaquin Castro, Veronica Escobar and Greg Casar.
“This notable exemption to Title IX’s sexual harassment rules claimed by Baylor University raises significant concerns over the federal civil rights protections from discrimination against LGBTQI+ students—the very protections being safeguarded by the Biden-Harris Administration—and may have broad consequences that weaken Title IX protections for all students in schools across the nation,” they wrote.
Baylor has said that department’s decision to affirm its exemption from sexual harassment claims won’t mean any changes to the institution’s current practices and policies.
The Office for Civil Rights is still investigating the complaints against the university.