A California lawmaker has dropped a requirement from his state bill that would have eliminated the exemption religious universities have against enforcing anti-discrimination rules relating to sexuality, Christianity Today reports.
The amended bill now requires religious schools to "disclose if they have an exemption and report to the state when students are expelled for violating morality codes," according to the Los Angeles Times.
Religious leaders found even that disagreeable, though they were happy at least to not have the original bill remain, which would have taken away state funding for low-income students and forced the schools to enforce rules such as banning same-sex relationships or requiring use of bathrooms of the person's biological sex.
Only students who are studying for the ministry would have fallen under the stricter religious rules.
The change came one day after an open letter from religious leaders opposing the bill by State Sen. Ricardo Lara. The bill still requires schools to report when they enforce the codes.
"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," Lara said.
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