Because in more than 20 states since 2013, officials in some U.S. colleges and universities believe their schools can discriminate cafeteria-style.
When it comes to diversity and LGBT students, colleges have seen Title IX as optional, picking between the L, G and B, but often leaving out the T, according to a new report released Friday from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC).
Nearly 60 colleges and universities have received federal waivers to legally discriminate, the report said.
The waivers would exempt schools from accommodating LGBT students in admissions, housing, recruitment, athletics, facilities, financial assistance and counseling services.
“There is an alarming and growing trend of schools quietly seeking the right to discriminate against LGBT students, and not disclosing that information publicly,” said HRC President Chad Griffin in a statement. “We believe that religious liberty is a bedrock principle of our nation, however faith should never be used as a guise for discrimination. Prospective students and their parents deserve greater transparency, and we urge the Department of Education to take action by helping to increase accountability and to ensure that no student unknowingly enrolls in a school that intends to discriminate against them.”
The group acknowledged the Department of Education may not be able to deny a school’s request for a waiver. But already, eight U.S. senators have signed on to an appeal to the Obama administration to publish religious waiver requests on a website, according to the Washington Post.
