Obama Administration’s Transgender Policy Could Endanger Catholic Schools,

[Amelia Pond]

Obama Administration's Transgender Policy Could Endanger Catholic Schools, Colleges
Matthew Archbold, August 1, 2013, 9:31 AM

http://www.cardinalnewmansociety.org/CatholicEducationDaily/DetailsPage/tabid/102/ArticleID/2416/Obama-Administration%E2%80%99s-Transgender-Policy-Could-Endanger-Catholic-Schools-Colleges.aspx

A recent settlement between the U.S. Education Department's Office for Civil Rights and a California school district should be setting off alarm bells, as Catholic colleges may be forced to accommodate transgender students in new ways or risk losing federal funding, according to Inside Higher Ed.

[Vicky]

An outstanding way to trim the federal budget!!!  Hear hear!!

[Ltl89]

I have to read more about this before I make a full judgement.  As it stands, this makes sense to me.  If a school wants to accept federal assistance, then it should also follow the terms that come along with it.  If you can't follow the terms and want to have your own regulations, then you should be able to provide for it yourself.  The rest of us are expected to follow terms that come along with contracts, grants, and loans, why should they be treated differently?  And before anyone says that Catholic institutions shouldn't have to follow these standards, I would remind them that no one is making them accept government funding.  It isn't an attack on religious liberty if you are able to continue running your schools as you wish.  And the standard seems wise because it is protecting the rights and safety of lgbt students. Nonetheless, I am willing to listen to any arguments that others may have on this issue. 

[MadeleineG]

I would remind them that no one is making them accept government funding. 

Better yet: deny any and all public funding for faith-based schools. How this funding doesn't violate fundamental separation is beyond me.

Maddy

[Ltl89]

Better yet: deny any and all public funding for faith-based schools. How this funding doesn't violate fundamental separation is beyond me.

Maddy

I don't fully agree with that.  There are plenty of Catholic schools which do a great job providing general education and grants can be used for secular purposes. It all depends on how much entanglement there is between government and religion before funding is permitted.  This is why the lemon test is useful in these situations.  As it stands most catholic schools are private for this reason, but I believe they can receive grants that don't have religious ties to it.  So if the funding to a catholic school was to help the children get text books or desks, that would be permissible.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemon_v._Kurtzman

[MadeleineG]

The challenge with disentangling secular from religious uses of funding comes when, as in Canadian Catholic schools, an explicit "religion across the curriculum" policy is enforced.

The following expectations, for example, form essential and mandatory curriculum for Ontario's publically funded Catholic school. These expectations are expected to inform and be integrated into all lessons throughout a student's K-12 education, irrespective of subject. Justification for this funding roots to the cultural protection provisions in BNA.

http://www.st-clair.net/Data/Sites/1/media/public/Curriculum/Catholic%20Graduate%20Expectations.pdf