A federal judge said a religious school must abide by Title IX if it accepts federal pandemic-relief support and is tax-exempt.
LOS ANGELES (CN) — A female football player who played on a high school team can proceed with her discrimination lawsuit against a Christian school and its affiliated church for refusing to play against her school if she was on the team.
U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong this week rejected arguments by Valley Christian Academy and First Baptist Church in Santa Maria, California, that they can’t be sued under Title IX of of the Education Amendments of 1972, the federal law that prohibits sexual discrimination at schools that receive U.S. funding.
Since the church and the school received federal pandemic-relief loans and as religious institutions are exempt from federal taxes, they are subject to Title IX requirements, according to the judge. The judge also wasn’t persuaded by arguments that non-students can’t sue a school for sexual discrimination or that the student, only identified as E.H., can’t sue based on the school’s religious beliefs.