Disputes over religious freedom and LGBTQ rights in the United States have led to some of the most high-profile judicial controversies — and 2022 is no exception. For example, the Supreme Court will hear arguments Dec. 5 about whether a designer can refuse to create wedding websites for same-sex couples; a ruling is likely in late June 2023.
Lately, many of these controversies have begun in educational settings, both in K-12 schools and on college campuses. As a professor of education law who often writes about First Amendment issues in schools, I see these cases, which are trying to balance tensions between fundamental rights, as potentially shaping new precedents.
Cases at Yeshiva University, a private Orthodox Jewish school in New York City, and Seattle Pacific University, a small Christian school, have made headlines, but they are not the only examples. Similar concerns arose at Catholic high schools in Indiana, where courts upheld the dismissals of employees in same-sex marriages, as well as Samford University in Alabama, where campus officials denied a student request to form a club for law students who are LGBTQ.
The dispute at Yeshiva University emerged when officials rejected the YU Pride Alliance’s request for official recognition, saying it was inconsistent with the school’s religious values.
The Pride Alliance filed suit alleging that the university violated a provision of the New York City Human Rights Law, which bans discrimination based on...
You don't have permission to access "http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-charges-and-guilty-pleas-involving-12-individuals-election" on this server. Reference #18.b689cc17.1...