An LGBT advocacy organization that attempted but failed to legally challenge the religious exemptions to federal Title IX discrimination laws for Christian colleges receiving federal funding is closing its doors.
The board of directors for the Religious Exemption Accountability Project (REAP) sent out an email to supporters on Sunday, announcing the organization’s shutdown. They cited “a serious internal issue” that impacted its “financial and operational stability” as the reason for the decision.
“Founded as a legal and storytelling campaign by queer students and alumni, REAP grew into a national nonprofit advocating for LGBTQIA+ students at religious colleges and universities,” stated REAP.
In March 2021, REAP initiated a lawsuit representing over 30 LGBT-identified current and former students who believed they had been discriminated against by more than 20 religious colleges.
The lawsuit was filed against the U.S. Department of Education and other defendants. It aimed to eliminate the religious exemption granted to Christian academic institutions under Title IX, which is a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on sex in educational settings receiving federal funding.
The lead plaintiff, Elizabeth Hunter, was a former student at Bob Jones University in South Carolina. She alleged that school officials harassed her because of her sexual orientation. Hunter also expressed concerns about the student handbook, which detailed behavioral rules prohibiting same-sex romantic relationships.
Other plaintiffs attended institutions such as Baylor University in Texas, Union University in Tennessee, Fuller Theological Seminary in California, and Azusa Pacific University in California, among others.
The Council for Christian Colleges and Universities filed a motion to intervene in the case, asserting that “the schools are transparent about their policies and behavior guidelines, which students voluntarily agree to when they choose to attend the institution.”
In January 2023, U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken in Oregon, a Clinton appointee, issued a ruling against the plaintiffs. The judge concluded that they failed to prove that the original exemption granted by Congress to religious colleges decades ago for Title IX was discriminatory.
In August 2024, a three-judge panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals also ruled against the lawsuit. Circuit Judge Milan D. Smith, Jr., a George W. Bush appointee, authored the panel’s opinion.
Judge Smith stated that there is “a continuous, century-long practice of governmental accommodations for religion that the Supreme Court and our court have repeatedly accepted as consistent with the Establishment Clause.”
He explained, “Here, when a school claims an exemption, the Department must make two determinations — whether the school is controlled by a religious organization and whether Title IX would conflict with the religious tenets of the controlling organization. We are not persuaded that this type of facially neutral religious accommodation violates the Establishment Clause.”
