Devin Bryant, an 18-year-old student-athlete was expelled just days before the start of his senior year—for being gay. The headmaster of Bryant’s school—Covenant Christian Academy in Texas— reportedly defended his expulsion and has a “religious freedom” defense ready.
Oregon-based civil rights attorney Paul Southwick now represents Bryant. “The religious exemption to Title IX, to the extent it would be applied to shield CCA from its discriminatory actions towards Devin, would be unconstitutional as a violation of the Due Process, Equal Protection and Establishment Clauses of the U.S. Constitution,” Southwick said. However, the school will have the opportunity to argue that it is not subject to Title IX, that it benefits from a religious exemption that covers this situation, or that Title IX more generally does not extend to sexual orientation discrimination.
Full article is here.
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