GROVE CITY BILL SHOULD INCLUDE RELIGIOUS EXEMPTIONS, PANEL TOLD

Sep 28, 2026

Congress should amend a pending Grove City College bill to clarify which religious exemptions from federal sex-bias enforcement under Title IX are allowable, according to a coalition of independent schools and colleges. The article explains that, since Title IX regulations were established after the 1970s, the Education Department has not fully addressed numerous exemption statements filed over time. It also details how Title IX’s current definition of “religiously controlled” institutions is tied to governing appointments and financial support, which is argued to be outdated due to changes in how many institutions are managed.

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GROVE CITY BILL SHOULD INCLUDE RELIGIOUS EXEMPTIONS, PANEL TOLD

Background on Title IX and exemption filings

What Congress is asked to clarify in H.R. 700

Problems with the current definition of “religiously controlled”

HIGHER EDUCATION DAILY The Independent daily news service foradministrators in postsecondaryeducation. Thursday,March 28,1985 # GROVE CITY BILL SHOULD INCLUDE RELIGIOUS EXEMPTIONS,PANEL TOLD Congress should amend a pending Grove City College bill to clarify just whattypes of religious exemptions from federal sex bias law are allowable,acoalition of independent schools and colleges told a House panel yesterday. Although Congress first allowed religious schools and colleges to claim partialexemptions from Title IX in 1975,the Education Department has yet to act onany of the 218 statements of exemptions filed since that time,CatholicUniversity President William Byron said yesterday.Most of those requestedexemptions were filed with ED in the late 1970s,Byron said. Byron,representing the National Association of Independent Colleges and Un1-versities(NAICU),the National Association of Schools and Colleges of the Uni-ted Methodist Church,and several other independent college groups,made hisremarks yesterday before a joint hearing of the House Education and Labor andJudiciary committees. Title IX of the 1972 Education Amendments bars bias in education programs thatreceive federal funds.A limited exemption from enforcement of Title IX,however,is available for"an education institution which is controlled by areligious organization to the extent application would not be consistent withthe religious tenets of such organization."according to ED's Title IXregulations. Byron asked the joint panel yesterday to consider including a clarification ofthe religious exemption in H.R.700,dubbed the Civil Rights Restoration Act of1985.That bill,which elicited testimony from a host of supporters and oppo-nents yesterday,would nullify the effects of the U.S.Supreme Court's GroveCity v.Bell decision,which was handed down a year ago· The Grove City decision had the effect of narrowing the scope of coverage ofTitle IX,as well as Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act,Section 504 of theRehabilitation Act and the Age Discrimination Act,which ban race,handicap andage bias in federally assisted programs. If an institution wishes to claim the exemption,the regulations say,a state-ment by the highest ranking official of the istitution must be submitted toED,"identifying the provisions of Title IX which conflict with a specifictenet of the religious organization." "Many of the institutions I represent today are deeply committed to certain re-ligious principles and as such,are concerned about the interpretation and im-plementation of this provision of the statute and the corresponding regula-tions,"Byron told the joint panel."This exemption provides an importantguarantee of the full exercise of religious liberty for church-related schools,and we support these protections under the law,"he said.(more) March 28,1985 # GROVE CITY BILL SHOULD INCLUDE RELIGIOUS.EXEMPTIONS,PANEL TOLD(Cont.) The problem with the exemption,however,lies in the definition of"religious-ly controlled"institutions,Byron said.He said the existing definition,which is found in Title IX's regulations,not the statute,is out of datebecause it requires that a school have its governing body appointed "by thecontrolling religious organization or an organ thereof,"and says the schoolmust receive a"significant amount of financial support from the controllingorganization or an organ thereof." "We believe the conditions relating to the governing body and financial supportare no longer appropriate,"Byron said,because most religious institutionsthat were"once tightly linked to churches"now have diversified governingboards.The solution,he said,is to include a statutory definition of"reli-gious control"in the Grove City bill,he said. Hearings on the Grove City bill are scheduled to continue today.--Greg McCaffery # "TREND CRAZY"SCHOOLS HAVE FAILED TO BUILD CHARACTER,BENNETT SAYS Schools have gone "trend crazy,"failing to help students "develop a reliablestandard

FAQs

What clarification does the coalition ask Congress to make in the Grove City bill?

They ask Congress to clarify what religious exemptions from federal sex-bias law enforcement under Title IX are allowable.

Why does the coalition say the Education Department’s process has been insufficient?

It has not taken action on many of the exemption statements filed since religious schools and colleges were first allowed partial exemptions under Title IX.

What does the article say is outdated about the current definition of “religiously controlled” institutions?

It ties exemption eligibility to governing bodies being appointed by the controlling religious organization and to receiving a significant amount of financial support from that organization, which the speaker argues no longer matches how many institutions are governed today.

Sep 28, 2026

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