Brigham Young University Won't Lose Accreditation for Ending Transgender Speech Services

This report has been updated with new information.

Reports that Brigham Young University could lose its accreditation because it stopped offering transgender speech adaptation services earlier this year are inaccurate, the university says.

After the school's decision in February, the Council of Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology, part of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), launched an investigation into whether BYU will continue to be accredited, according The College Fix reported Monday.

But the university tells Newsmax that the Council on Academic Accreditation dropped plans for an investigation after considering the complaint and BYU’s response.

Media Relations Manager Todd Hollingshead said in an email that the council also said that BYU’s program remains in compliance with its standards for accreditation.

Newsmax is seeking comment from the council.

In February, the private school in Utah, which is operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, decided to end gender-affirming speech therapy classes for transgender people, saying that providing such services doesn’t align with the church’s teachings.

According to The Salt Lake Tribune, the private school in Utah, which is operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said in a memo to faculty that said it will not assist in speech therapy to support an individual's vocal transition to a sex not assigned at birth.

While the church handbook states that "members and nonmembers who identify as transgender — and their family and friends — should be treated with sensitivity, kindness, compassion, and an abundance of Christlike love," the church opposes gender transition, the college news outlet reports.

As a private church-funded institution, BYU is exempt from federal laws prohibiting gender-based discrimination, the Tribune reports.

BYU also has an exemption for "health and insurance benefits and services" that applies to its campus clinics, which means the school can choose to deny care based on a person's identity.

BYU is standing by its decision and has advised affected students of potential options to continue their speech therapy.

"Although the Department of Communication Disorders is no longer providing gender-affirming voice and communication services, it has made the three students impacted by this change aware of other providers," BYU spokeswoman Carri Jenkins told the Tribune.

In order to be certified by ASHA upon graduation, pathologists are supposed to be trained to work with every type of client and be versed on the different kinds of therapies, including gender-affirming services.

The organization released a statement in February, saying BYU's decision was "in direct opposition to practice expected" of accredited schools and urged the school to reinstate its program.

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