After filing suit in April 2021, College of the Ozarks witnessed a federal judge deny its request for a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction after the Biden administration announced a non-discrimination housing rule on behalf of sexual orientation and gender identity. That order came in late July.
College of the Ozarks, a school of 1,400 students located in Missouri, objected to the rule from Housing and Urban Development because it was being forced to open up residence halls and dorm rooms to the opposite sex.
The college, founded in 1906, is famous for its unique student work program in which students work instead of paying tuition. In its lawsuit, the school is being represented by Alliance Defending Freedom.
In an interview on Fox News, college president Dr. Brad Johnson was asked how he responds to critics who say the religious school is discriminating against LGBT students.
“I really believe the ruling on the executive order,” he replied, “is discriminatory against Christians and Christian values that we hold dear."
In the same Fox interview, ADF attorney Ryan Bangert said the federal government has no right telling Christian universities how to separate males and females in their dormitories.
“This is not about discrimination,” he insisted. “This is about telling religious schools they simply can’t operate based on their religious principles, and that’s just wrong.”
