Andy Ogles: “I will go back to the Eighth Circuit where it determined at the University of Iowa, that the student groups, the…”

“I will go back to the Eighth Circuit where it determined at the University of Iowa, that the student groups, the religious groups, had the right to choose their leadership. You can go back to the University of Wisconsin-Madison where the same type of ruling came down. That being said, in 2022, the law school at Madison decided to reject the initial application of a Christian Legal Society chapter because the group requires that its leader is Christian, which administrators claim was different than requiring believing Christian beliefs. They only relented after being challenged on the legality of their actions. The underlying bill already establishes that public universities cannot discriminate against religious groups for their leadership standards, but we all know that sometimes, like my previous amendment, you need to state the obvious. When we find an issue that public universities will persist in fighting, even after losing in court, it is important to spell things out clearly. My amendment does just that. It inserts the statement: `` . . . regarding religious identity, belief, or practice.'' It clarifies their right to choose their leadership based off of their beliefs. I urge adoption of my amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time. The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Ogles). The amendment was agreed to. The Acting CHAIR.…”