Religious colleges in California are claiming victory after a California senator announced that he would amend a bill that threatens religious freedom.
State Sen. Ricardo Lara said he would delete a provision in SB 1146 that would allow gay and transgender students to file a lawsuit for discrimination against private religious colleges and universities that receive state financial assistance, according to the Los Angeles Times.
"Notwithstanding any other law, a postsecondary educational institution that is controlled by a religious organization and that receives financial assistance from the state or enrolls students who receive state financial assistance is subject to Section 11135, and violation of that section may be enforced by a private right of action as described in Section 11139," the bill reads.
Section 11135 of the California Code prohibits discrimination against anyone "on the basis of race, national origin, ethnic group identification, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, color, genetic information, or disability" under any programme that is funded or receives funding from the state.
Lara's move seeks to remove a portion of the bill that aims to remove exemption of religious schools to anti-discrimination laws.
He will instead go for the bill that would still require religious schools to disclose their exemption and report it to the California Student Aid Commission.
"The goal for me has always been to shed the light on the appalling and unacceptable discrimination against LGBT students at these private religious institutions throughout California," said Lara.
In amending the bill, Lara said, "I don't want to just rush a bill that's going to have unintended consequences so I want to take a break to really study this issue further."
But he vowed to resurrect the deleted provision through other legislation next year.
Concordia University Irvine president Kurt Krueger hailed the dropping of the controversial provision as victory.
"It appears that we have won a battle in the war to defend religious freedom, but we anticipate that many more battles remain," he said.
He said "If the amendments reflect Senator Lara's expressed intent, Concordia will support SB 1146 moving forward."
Six universities formed the Association of Faith-Based Institutions and provided $350,000 to campaign against the bill.
Following Lara's announcement, the universities said they have changed their position on the bill from "oppose unless amended" to "support."
Kristine Soares, president of the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities, wants to see the amended bill before issuing a stand.
"It's a positive development. This gives us time to really work on the issue the senator is trying to address," she said.
