Some Religious Colleges Forgo Federal Funding, Staying Free of Civil Rights Rules

Widening Obama administration protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people now appear to be further deepening concerns about government control at colleges and universities affiliated with religious denominations. A growing number have been granted, or are seeking, exemptions from the U.S. Department of Education from provisions under Title IX of the laws governing higher education, which protects students from discrimination in housing, athletics, and access to facilities on the basis of such things as gender, sexual orientation, sex or pregnancy outside marriage, or having an abortion.A handful refuse to accept federal funding outright, including federal financial aid for their students, which falls under what is known as Title IV.