Eight religious colleges, societies, and professors file amicus
brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case of Gloucester County School Board v. G.G.
Washington, DC – First Liberty Institute filed an amicus brief
with the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday on behalf of religious educational institutions
and educators, asking the Court to review the case of Gloucester County
School Board v. G.G. Religious educators believe the outcome of this case
will determine the future of religious freedom for faith-based schools and colleges
nationwide.
On Jan. 7, 2015, a mid-level official at the U.S. Department of Education sent an
informal, private letter to a transgender high school student in the Gloucester
County School District. The letter said that because Title IX requires schools
to offer equal-quality facilities to both sexes, schools must allow students to
use the bathrooms and locker rooms of whichever sex they identify with, or else
the school could lose its federal education dollars.
The issue was brought
before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit where a sharply divided
panel voted 2-1 that the unpublished letter has the force of law and should be
applied to all schools in the nation.
“No one has the
authority to say that a letter written by an unelected government agent is now
the law of the land,” Kelly Shackelford, President and CEO of First Liberty
Institute, says. “Federal law says that at the very least, agencies must go
through a process of public notice and comment to allow concerned citizens to
weigh in.”
As a result of the court
ruling, faith-based schools could be stripped of their Title IX federal funding
unless they adopt the new policies, even if the policies violate their
religious beliefs.
Shackelford continues,
“The First Amendment clearly protects the right of faith-based schools and
educators to voice their concerns before the government strips away their
benefits, and even then penalizing them for their faith would still be against
the law.”
The signatories on the
brief include:
· The Cardinal Newman Society
· John Paul the Great Catholic University
· Thomas Aquinas College
· The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts
· Wyoming Catholic College
· Ignatius Angelicum Liberal Studies Program
· Dr. Byron R. Johnson, Institute for Studies of
Religion (ISR), Baylor University
· National Catholic Bioethics Center
“This yet another
example of our government circumventing the Constitution, violating federal
law, and stifling religious freedom,” Shackelford says. “We hope the Supreme
Court will uphold the rights of these educators to participate in public debate
regarding this sensitive issue.”
Read the full brief
at http://firstliberty.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/16-273-Gloucester-Cnty-Sch-Bd-v-GG-Amici-Brief-First-Liberty.pdf
About First Liberty Institute
First Liberty Institute is the largest legal organization in the nation dedicated
exclusively to defending religious freedom for all Americans.
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