The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to take up a Christian college’s challenge to the federal government’s directive on housing for transgender people.
College of the Ozarks, a Christian school in Missouri, had challenged a 2021 policy from the Biden administration’s Department of Housing and Urban Development noting that discriminating on the basis of gender identity was unlawful. The feds cited the Supreme Court’s 2020 ruling in a case that held sex discrimination also applied to LGBT individuals in the workplace.
The school said the policy ran afoul of federal law because the administration did not properly follow the rule-making process, plus said the rule infringed on religion and First Amendment rights.
Lower courts ruled against the college, saying the policy did not specify that it would apply to religious institutions, reasoning that College of the Ozarks did not suffer legal injury to bring the suit.
In its petition, College of the Ozarks said it teaches gender based on biology not identity — and the federal guidance infringes on its policy and education.
“The College’s code of conduct specifies that residence halls are single sex and assigned by biological sex, not gender identity,” the school argued. “The government’s rule change now deems the College’s housing policies to be discriminatory and its speech unlawful.”
The Biden administration told the high court the rule doesn’t speak to a religious exemption.
“Petitioner’s claim of injury stemming from the memorandum’s issuance is ‘speculative,’ ‘conjectural’ and ‘hypothetical,’” the Justice Department wrote in its brief.
Without comment, the high court declined to take up the school’s appeal.
It would have taken four justices to vote in favor of hearing the case.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
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