A federal appeals court recently upheld a lower court’s ruling in favor of granting a Title IX exemption for religious post-secondary institutions that receive federal funding.

A group of students who identify as LGBTQ+ had previously filed suit against the U.S. Department of Education, challenging a federal exemption for religious institutions to Title IX, the 1972 federal civil rights law requiring that women and girls have equal access and treatment in education and athletics.

The students argued that religious colleges and universities that receive federal funding discriminated against due to their sexual orientations and gender identities in their admissions or disciplinary processes.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the exemption Aug. 30, finding that it only applies to schools under the purview of a religious group, and only if the application of Title IX “would not be consistent with a specific tenet of the controlling religious organization.”

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Kate Scanlon is a national reporter for OSV News covering Washington. Follow her on X @kgscanlon.