The Supreme Court this week declined to hear an appeal from a Missouri Christian college seeking to halt a Biden administration policy the college believes may force it to allow biological males in women’s dormitories.
Last February, the College of the Ozarks near Branson, Missouri, asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) directive. The directive stated HUD would enforce the 1968 Fair Housing Act’s prohibition on sex discrimination as a ban on discrimination because of “gender identity.”
College of the Ozarks had previously lost several times in the lower courts after filing a lawsuit against HUD and the Biden administration in April 2021.
The lawsuit responded to President Joe Biden’s January 2021 executive order interpreting the Fair Housing Act to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
In February 2021, HUD issued a memorandum instructing the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) to “administer and fully enforce” the Fair Housing Act consistent with the Biden administration’s interpretation.
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College of the Ozarks claimed that the guidance conflicted with its policy of assigning housing for students based on sex assigned at birth.
The college believes the HUD directive “forces religious schools to violate their beliefs by opening their dormitories, including dorm rooms and shared shower spaces, to members of the opposite sex,” an announcement on its Facebook page read.
The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a conservative Christian legal nonprofit, represented the college. Its attorneys argued the HUD directive could compel the college to violate biblical principles and traditional Christian beliefs about sex and marriage.
ADF also claimed the policy would force College of the Ozarks to allow biological males access to women’s dorms and shared showers. Otherwise, the school would likely face millions in fines, punitive damages, and legal fees, ADF argued.
One month after the school filed its case, U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark of the Western District of Missouri ruled against the college.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit upheld Judge Ketchmark’s decision in a 2-1 vote in July 2022. The panel concluded that the HUD policy did not directly affect the college. It also affirmed the lower court’s finding that College of the Ozarks lacked standing, or did not have a basis to sue.
That’s because the government has never charged the college with sex discrimination in its housing, the judges wrote, “even though (HUD) interpreted the Fair Housing Act to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity between 2012 and 2020.”
“The College has not shown that there exists a credible threat that the defendants will enforce the Fair Housing Act against the institution based on its religiously-based housing policies,” the judges wrote.
ADF attorneys representing the College of the Ozarks filed a petition on February 27 asking the Supreme Court to take up the case.
Nineteen states and multiple Christian colleges and advocacy groups, including the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, backed the petition and submitted friend-of-the-court briefs to the Supreme Court.
But on June 20, the Supreme Court denied the petition.
“The U.S. Supreme Court left this issue unresolved,” ADF Senior Counsel Julie Marie Blake said. “It is wrong to force schools to open girls’ dorms, bedrooms, and shared showers to males, and ADF will do everything in its power to ensure that religious colleges remain free to protect the young women who attend their institutions.”
Even though the Supreme Court won’t review the case, the college has said it may not follow the Biden administration’s order.
Jessica Eturralde is a military wife of 18 years and mother of three who serves as a freelance writer, TV host, and filmmaker. Bylines include Yahoo, Huffington Post, OC16TV.
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9 Responses
Does this apply regardless of whether they accept federal funding? my bible college avoided following many federal rules by not accepting federal funding.
It should apply to 501c3 religious organizations, they are bound by Federal rulings, or they lose their “not-for-profit” status.
It is the same reason churches claimed they were powerless, and could not fight paying for/including the birth control/abortion Federal insurance mandate, to their employees.
Not an expert, but I think so. Bible colleges discriminating against gays and trans people are in danger of losing federal funding. There is an exemption for religious institutions in Title IX but that is being challenged as unconstitutional. This is under housing discrimination and sounds like the college risks fines and payment of attorney fees rather than loss of Federal funding.
Jen makes a very good point. Christian/religious organization need to be able to function without one cent of government money. Once you take Caesar’s money, you are beholden to Caesar’s law’s, norms and morals. The simple truth is that courts are there to protect, and in some cases defend, the laws of Caesar. There are not laws on the books (at least not yet!) forcing a church or religious organization to allow for transgender people to use the facilities of the opposite sex (opposite of the sex they were assigned at birth) All this being said, hang on to yur hats brothers and sisters, the LGBTQIA+ Industrial Complex is coming to a church near you soon, and very soon. But let us ALWAYS remember: “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms”. (Eph 6:12)
Rick, interestingly Weymouth translates a bit differently than most with that Eph 6 passage:
“ 12For ours is not a conflict with mere flesh and blood, but with the despotisms, the empires, the forces that control and govern this dark world—the spiritual hosts of evil arrayed against us in the heavenly warfare.”
Leaves one with the impression the spiritual hosts often do have hands and feet. Read the other day they said they’re coming after our children. At least they’re no longer hiding their true motive.
the college should simply defy the ruling. let’s see what happens. this stuff happens as long as we allow it to happen.
Has any authority (municipal/local, state or federal… police / judge / magistrate / legislature / gov, national guard, general, army, etc) arrived at the school’s door / gates to enforce/compel the Biden admin memorandum, yet? (not necessarily an applies-to-all law, correct?) If that hasn’t happened yet or even been threatened yet, then why is the school spending all this lawyer money and public hoopla time… I imagine some of it is to get out ‘ahead’ of a possibility…But is even that something we see practiced by Jesus and His disciples? Is this something the early church practiced? Is this something the great saints of that era and following church history era’s practiced and encouraged their flocks to do? (ie take a possibility of harm to themselves, to court/legislature, to preserve their financial or institutional status quo?)
This is a tough one. I do agree that being able to function without government money is a first step to challenging this based on religious freedom. You can’t ask for government funding then be mad at how it requires obeying the law.
HOWEVER, let’s not forget when certain Christian colleges didn’t permit interracial dating – and YES that was recent (my cousin transferred out due to this “rule”). There’s a fine line for when protections under the law should be applied.
No perfect answer here.
Actually surprised the long-prophesied and long-prayed for CHRISTIAN Supreme Court would deny the challenge.
Not surprised the challenge came from around Branson, MO.
“Branson, Missouri — It’s what Las Vegas would be if it was run by Ned Flanders.”
— The SImpsons