Brigham Young University

Schools with Title IX exemptions and institutions that are religiously affiliated may exclude or deny protections to students based on their gender identity, gender expression, and/or sexual orientation. Institutions with a Discriminatory Institutional Policy flagged here have at least one policy that actively excludes or prohibits LGBTQ+ students from living in alignment with their gender identity, gender expression, and/or sexual orientation. (Each flag links to the institutional policy. To learn more, click here.)

The Religious Exemption Accountability Project (REAP) empowers queer, trans and non-binary students at more than 200 taxpayer-funded religious schools that actively discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity/expression. In 2021, REAP filed a class-action lawsuit representing 33 LGBTQ students and alumni from religious colleges demanding that the U.S. Department of Education to stop granting religious exemptions to taxpayer-funded religious colleges and universities that discriminate against and abuse their LGBTQ students. Through civil rights litigation, storytelling, oral history, research and public policy, REAP works towards a world where LGBTQ students on all campuses are treated equally, with safety and respect.

Title IX prohibits educational institutions that receive any form of federal funding from excluding, separating, or denying benefits to students on the basis of sex in its educational programs or activities. However, in the 1975 explanation of Title IX released by the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), there is no explanation of or definition for sex . This has led to confusion in recent years over who, exactly, is protected by Title IX. Some, including institutional representatives, interpret sex as a gender assigned at birth, legally allowing them to dismiss and discriminate against students based on due to their gender identity, gender expression, and/or sexual orientation . Institutions may claim a religious exemption to Title IX regulations by submitting a written statement to the US Office of Civil Rights (OCR). As of January 15, 2020, an institution’s exempt status is “not dependent upon its submission of a written statement to OCR”; Rather, writing in to the office and proving that an institution is controlled by a religious institution and that their religious tenets conflict with Title IX, is an assurance of exemption, implying that religious institutions are already exempt. (Click here for Athlete Ally's Addendum on Religiously Affiliated Institutions.)