I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5331 

To prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, and gender 

identity; and to protect the free exercise of religion. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 6, 2019 

Mr. STEWART (for himself, Mr. BISHOP of Utah, Mr. CURTIS, Mr. 

FITZPATRICK, Mr. SIMPSON, Mr. UPTON, Ms. STEFANIK, Mr. AMODEI, 

and Mr. JOYCE of Ohio) introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees 

on Education and Labor, Ways and Means, Financial Services, Oversight 

and Reform, and House Administration, for a period to be subsequently 

determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity; and to protect the free exercise 

of religion. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fairness for All Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PROHIBITION AGAINST DISCRIMINATION OR SEG2 REGATION IN PLACES OF PUBLIC ACCOMMO3 DATION. 

4 Section 201 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 

5 U.S.C. 2000a) is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘sex, sexual 

7 orientation, gender identity,’’ before ‘‘or national ori8 gin’’; 

9 (2) in subsection (b)— 

10 (A) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

11 the end; 

12 (B) by redesignating paragraph (4) as 

13 paragraph (10); 

14 (C) by inserting after paragraph (3) the 

15 following: 

16 ‘‘(4) any place of exercise, recreation, or amusement, 

17 other than religious camps or religious retreat centers; 

18 ‘‘(5) any provider of financial services, including 

19 banks, credit unions, mortgage houses, brokers, and finan20 cial planners; 

21 ‘‘(6) for the purpose of classifications enumerated in 

22 subsection (a) and not described by section 1557 of the 

23 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. 

24 18116(a))— 

25 ‘‘(A) any provider of medical services. It shall 

26 not constitute a violation of this title to provide a 


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1 service, treatment, therapy, procedure, or drug on 

2 the same medical terms or criteria applicable to indi3 viduals needing that service, treatment, therapy, pro4 cedure or drug, without regard to protected class 

5 status; 

6 ‘‘(B) any provider of mental health care, except 

7 that this section shall not apply when the primary 

8 objective is to assist a person in entering or sus9 taining a marriage, so long as the provider coordi10 nates a referral of the client to another qualified 

11 mental health care provider who will provide the 

12 needed service and the client is not in imminent dan13 ger of harming self or others; 

14 ‘‘(C) nothing in subparagraph (B) shall apply 

15 to a priest, pastor, rabbi, imam, or minister of any 

16 faith while acting substantially in a ministerial ca17 pacity; and 

18 ‘‘(D) a provider of medical services covered by 

19 subparagraph (A) or a provider of mental health 

20 care covered by subparagraph (B) may make evi21 dence-based medical determinations and may refer 

22 patients when necessary for a patient’s best interests 

23 and welfare, including professional expertise; 

24 ‘‘(7) any place of or provider of transportation serv25 ices; 


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1 ‘‘(8) any provider of funeral services or burial plots, 

2 except those that primarily limit their services or facilities 

3 to those of a particular religion; 

4 ‘‘(9) any store, shopping center, or online retailer or 

5 provider of online services that has 15 or more employees 

6 for each working day in each of 20 or more calendar weeks 

7 in the current or preceding calendar year. This employee 

8 threshold shall not apply to a claim of discrimination be9 cause of race, color, or national origin or to a place of 

10 public accommodation covered under paragraphs (1) 

11 through (8);’’; and 

12 (D) by inserting after paragraph (10) the 

13 following: 

14 ‘‘(11)(A) The provisions of this title shall not 

15 apply to— 

16 ‘‘(i) any building or collection of buildings 

17 that is used primarily as a denominational 

18 headquarters, church administrative office, or 

19 church conference center; 

20 ‘‘(ii) a place of worship, such as a church, 

21 synagogue, mosque, chapel, and its appurtenant 

22 properties used primarily for religious purposes; 

23 ‘‘(iii) a religious educational institution 

24 and its appurtenant properties used primarily 

25 for religious purposes; 


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1 ‘‘(iv) in connection with a religious celebra2 tion or exercise: a facility that is supervised by 

3 a priest, pastor, rabbi, imam, or minister of any 

4 faith, or religious certifying body, and that is 

5 principally engaged in providing food and bev6 erages in compliance with religious dietary re7 quirements; or 

8 ‘‘(v) any online operations or activities of 

9 an organization exempt under this section. 

10 ‘‘(B) The following shall not be a place of pub11 lic accommodation, even if used for a commercial 

12 purpose, except within the area and during the time 

13 that the property or facility is open to the public; 

14 operated primarily for a commercial purpose; and 

15 not primarily related to the inculcation, promotion, 

16 or expression of religion— 

17 ‘‘(i) other appurtenant properties or facili18 ties owned or operated by a church, by another 

19 house of worship, or by a religious educational 

20 institution; or 

21 ‘‘(ii) a property owned or operated pri22 marily for noncommercial purposes by a non23 profit religious corporation that holds itself out 

24 to the public as substantially religious, has as 

25 its stated purpose in its organic documents that 


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1 it is religious, and is substantially religious in 

2 its current operations. 

3 ‘‘(C) This paragraph (11) shall not apply to a 

4 person or entity that discriminates because of race, 

5 color, or national origin with respect to a property 

6 or facility enumerated in (A) or (B). 

7 ‘‘(12) Provided that equivalent treatment, serv8 ices, facilities, and benefits are made available and 

9 without prejudicing rights or protections based on 

10 any other protected class status— 

11 ‘‘(A) nothing in this title that refers to 

12 ‘sex’ shall be construed to prevent a fitness cen13 ter, spa, or similar place, whose services or fa14 cilities are intended for the exclusive use of per15 sons of the same sex, from providing the use of 

16 those services or facilities exclusively to persons 

17 of that sex or prohibit a place of public accom18 modation from temporarily restricting access to 

19 a fitness center, spa, pool, or similar place, ac20 cording to sex; and 

21 ‘‘(B) a place of public accommodation shall 

22 reasonably accommodate a patron who requests 

23 greater privacy within a facility intended for the 

24 exclusive use of persons of the same sex. 


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1 ‘‘(13) Nothing in this title shall be construed to 

2 require or prohibit any person, or public or private 

3 entity, to provide or pay for any benefit or service, 

4 including the use of facilities, related to an abortion. 

5 Nothing in this title shall be construed to permit a 

6 penalty to be imposed on any person or any indi7 vidual because such person or individual is seeking 

8 or has received any benefit or service related to a 

9 legal abortion.’’; and 

10 (3) by adding at the end of subsection (e) the 

11 following: 

12 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this title: 

13 ‘‘(1) The term ‘gender identity’ means the gen14 der-related identity, appearance, mannerisms, or 

15 other gender-related characteristics of an individual, 

16 without regard to the individual’s designated sex at 

17 birth. A person’s gender identity can be shown by 

18 providing evidence, including medical history, care or 

19 treatment of the gender identity, consistent and uni20 form assertion of the gender identity, or other evi21 dence that the gender identity is sincerely held, part 

22 of a person’s core identity, and not being asserted 

23 for an improper purpose. 

24 ‘‘(2) The term ‘sexual orientation’ means homo25 sexuality, heterosexuality, or bisexuality. 


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1 ‘‘(3) The term ‘online retailer or provider of on2 line services’ means a web page by a commercial 

3 business not enumerated in paragraph (11) that in4 vites the general public to purchase a good or service 

5 by use of a credit card or similar payment device 

6 over the internet. It does not mean a web page that 

7 gives information about a good or service, including 

8 quality, price, or availability, but does not permit 

9 such purchase directly from the web page. 

10 ‘‘(4) The terms ‘religion’ and ‘religious’ include 

11 all aspects of religious belief, observance, and prac12 tice, whether or not compelled by, or central to, a 

13 system of religion. 

14 ‘‘(5) The term ‘religious corporation, associa15 tion, educational institution, or society’ includes— 

16 ‘‘(A) a church, synagogue, mosque, temple, 

17 or other house of worship; 

18 ‘‘(B) a nonprofit corporation, association, 

19 educational institution, society, or other non20 profit entity that is, in whole or in substantial 

21 part, owned, supported, controlled, or managed 

22 by a particular religion or by a particular 

23 church, denomination, convention, or associa24 tion of churches or other houses of worship; or 


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1 ‘‘(C) a nonprofit corporation, association, 

2 educational institution, society, or other non3 profit entity that holds itself out to the public 

4 as substantially religious, has as its stated pur5 pose in its organic documents that it is reli6 gious, and is substantially religious in its cur7 rent operations. 

8 ‘‘(g) ADDITIONAL FACILITIES NOT REQUIRED.— 

9 Nothing in this title shall be construed to require the con10 struction of new or additional facilities.’’. 

11 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON DISCRIMINATION IN FEDERALLY 

12 FUNDED PROGRAMS. 

13 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d) is 

14 amended— 

15 (1) in section 601, by inserting ‘‘sex, sexual ori16 entation, gender identity,’’ before ‘‘or national ori17 gin.’’; 

18 (2) in section 606, by striking ‘‘For the pur19 poses of this title’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject to section 

20 607, for the purposes of this title’’; and 

21 (3) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 607. PROGRAM OR ACTIVITY AND PROGRAM DEFINED 

2 FOR PURPOSES OF RELIGIOUS ENTITIES AS 

3 APPLIED TO SEX, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, OR 

4 GENDER IDENTITY. 

5 ‘‘For the purposes of this title, as applied to sex, sex6 ual orientation, and gender identity, for any religious cor7 poration, association, educational institution, or society, 

8 the term ‘program or activity’ and the term ‘program’ are 

9 limited to any specific program or activity, or part thereof, 

10 that receives Federal financial assistance. Any penalty or 

11 loss of Federal financial assistance assessed against such 

12 a religious entity shall be limited to the program or activ13 ity or program, or part thereof, that is determined to have 

14 violated section 601. 

15 ‘‘SEC. 608. SAFEGUARDS FOR RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS 

16 RECEIVING ASSISTANCE. 

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—An otherwise qualified religious 

18 provider shall be eligible to receive Federal financial as19 sistance for a particular service without regard to the pro20 vider’s religious views or teachings, notwithstanding sec21 tion 2000d. Subject to this title, a religious organization 

22 that applies for, or participates in, a program or activity 

23 receiving Federal financial assistance shall retain its inde24 pendence and may continue to carry out its mission, in25 cluding the definition, development, and expression of its 

26 religious beliefs. 


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1 ‘‘(b) SPECIFIC SAFEGUARDS.—Nothing in this title 

2 prohibits a religious organization receiving Federal finan3 cial assistance from using space in its buildings and other 

4 facilities to conduct its program or activities where there 

5 is religious art, icons, messages, scriptures, or other sym6 bols. Additionally, the organization retains authority over 

7 its internal governance and thus may have religious words 

8 in the organization’s name, select members of its gov9 erning board based on religious criteria, and have religious 

10 references in its mission statement and other governing 

11 documents. 

12 ‘‘(c) EDUCATIONAL AND CHILDCARE INSTITU13 TIONS.—A religious educational institution or daycare 

14 center may enforce with reasonable consistency written re15 ligious standards in its admission criteria, educational pro16 grams, student retention policies, or residential life policy, 

17 unless those standards are based on race, color, or na18 tional origin or would exclude or remove a student solely 

19 because of a prohibited classification under section 601 

20 with respect to that student’s parent or legal guardian. 

21 ‘‘(d) MARRIAGE AND FAMILY EDUCATION, 

22 STRENGTHENING, AND COUNSELING PROGRAMS.—For 

23 purposes of sexual orientation and gender identity, a reli24 gious corporation, association, educational institution, or 

25 society receiving Federal financial assistance shall be 


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1 deemed in compliance with section 601 notwithstanding 

2 the content of any marriage or family education, strength3 ening, or counseling programming, provided that the re4 cipient does not exclude beneficiaries on the basis of sexual 

5 orientation or gender identity. 

6 ‘‘(1) REFERRAL OBLIGATION.—If a beneficiary 

7 or prospective beneficiary objects to the religious 

8 character of the recipient, the recipient will under9 take reasonable efforts as described in subsection 

10 (d)(2) to identify and refer the beneficiary to an al11 ternative provider to which the beneficiary has no 

12 objection; however, the recipient is not obligated to 

13 guarantee that in every instance an alternative pro14 vider will be available. 

15 ‘‘(2) AGENCY RESPONSIBILITIES.—Each agency 

16 responsible for administering or supporting a social 

17 service program with Federal financial assistance 

18 shall establish policies and procedures designed to 

19 ensure that— 

20 ‘‘(A) appropriate and timely referrals are 

21 made to an alternative provider; 

22 ‘‘(B) all referrals are made in a manner 

23 consistent with all applicable privacy laws and 

24 regulations; 


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1 ‘‘(C) the recipient subject to subsection 

2 (d)(1) notifies the agency of any referral; 

3 ‘‘(D) such recipient has established a proc4 ess for determining whether the beneficiary has 

5 contacted the alternative provider; and 

6 ‘‘(E) each beneficiary of a marriage or 

7 family education, strengthening, or counseling 

8 program that receives Federal financial assist9 ance receives written notice of the protections 

10 set forth in this section prior to enrolling in or 

11 receiving services from such program. 

12 ‘‘(3) RECIPIENT’S RESPONSIBILITIES.—The re13 ferral obligation of the recipient under section (d)(2) 

14 shall be satisfied by the recipient if it— 

15 ‘‘(A) makes appropriate and timely refer16 rals to an alternative provider; 

17 ‘‘(B) refers in a manner consistent with all 

18 applicable privacy laws and regulations; 

19 ‘‘(C) notifies the agency of the referral; 

20 ‘‘(D) has established a process for deter21 mining whether the beneficiary has contacted 

22 the alternative provider; and 

23 ‘‘(E) can demonstrate that each bene24 ficiary of a social service program received writ25 ten notice of the protections set forth in this 


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1 section prior to enrolling in or receiving services 

2 from such program. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 609. SPECIALIZED FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE 

4 TO AN ENTIRE ENTITY. 

5 ‘‘(a) Any religious corporation, association, edu6 cational institution, or society that is otherwise eligible for 

7 Federal financial assistance that is awarded to entities to 

8 support the safety or infrastructure of the entity cannot 

9 be excluded from assistance because of its religious beliefs 

10 or practices. Such assistance includes Federal financial as11 sistance for historic preservation, disaster recovery, or fa12 cilities security. The religious corporation, association, 

13 educational institution, or society shall be deemed in com14 pliance with section 601, provided that funds used for pro15 curement from a third-party vendor must be used in a 

16 manner that complies with section 601. 

17 ‘‘(b) For the purposes of this subsection, a religious 

18 educational institution or daycare center that receives 

19 funds under the Richard B. Russell National School 

20 Lunch Act shall not be deemed a recipient of Federal fi21 nancial assistance. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 610. FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR ADOP2 TION AND FOSTER CARE. 

3 ‘‘(a) CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS AND DECLARATION

4 OF POLICY.—The Congress hereby finds and declares the 

5 following: 

6 ‘‘(1) At-risk children deserve a safe and caring 

7 family, and reducing the number of vulnerable chil8 dren without a permanent home is in the Federal in9 terest. 

10 ‘‘(2) There is a national deficit in the number 

11 of adoptive and foster parents and the private agen12 cies qualified to serve these children. Federal and 

13 State governments should cooperate to encourage 

14 new agencies to join the effort to serve the needs of 

15 vulnerable children, alongside private agencies that 

16 have already been doing that crucial work for dec17 ades, including agencies whose commitment to serve 

18 arises from profound religious convictions. 

19 ‘‘(3) By providing safe and welcoming homes to 

20 vulnerable children, adoptive and foster care parents 

21 serve the best interests of children and contribute to 

22 the common good of our communities in ways that 

23 are irreplaceable. Such parents should be empowered 

24 to adopt children based on their merits as parents, 

25 without being thwarted by discriminatory obstacles. 


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1 ‘‘(4) By finding safe and welcoming homes for 

2 vulnerable children, religious and other providers of 

3 adoption and foster care services, facilitate connec4 tions between good parents and vulnerable children. 

5 In doing so, such providers also contribute to the 

6 common good of our communities in ways that are 

7 irreplaceable. 

8 ‘‘(5) The indirect funding program created by 

9 this section is intended to be a permanent and fully 

10 funded program that links vulnerable children to 

11 good parents in order to serve the best interests of 

12 children. This indirect funding program will do so by 

13 ensuring that diverse adoption and foster care pro14 viders, including religious providers, will continue to 

15 receive Federal financial assistance. 

16 ‘‘(6) Therefore, it is the policy of the Federal 

17 Government to protect the best interests of at-risk 

18 children by establishing minimum Federal standards 

19 that guarantee the equal treatment of qualified fam20 ilies seeking to offer foster care or adoption and an 

21 equal respect for the diversity of private agencies, 

22 including religious agencies, that provide adoption 

23 and foster care services. This section shall be con24 strued in a manner consistent with these findings 

25 and declaration of policy. 


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1 ‘‘(b) NONDISCRIMINATION REQUIREMENTS.—Fed2 eral financial assistance for adoption, foster care, or re3 lated services is subject to section 601, unless otherwise 

4 provided in this section. Any entity that receives Federal 

5 financial assistance to perform adoption or foster care 

6 placements or related services, or that contracts with an 

7 entity that receives Federal financial assistance for those 

8 services, except for a private agency when participating 

9 in the indirect funding program as described under sub10 section (c)(2)(B) or (d)(1), may not in the course of per11 forming an adoption, foster care, or related service dis12 criminate against a prospective parent or a child because 

13 of race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, or 

14 gender identity. 

15 ‘‘(1) An entity unlawfully discriminates against 

16 a prospective parent by— 

17 ‘‘(A) denying to any qualified person equal 

18 access to or equal treatment during the adop19 tion or foster care evaluation and placement 

20 process because of the race, color, national ori21 gin, sex, sexual orientation or gender identity of 

22 the qualified prospective adoptive or foster par23 ent or of the child involved; 

24 ‘‘(B) delaying or denying the placement of 

25 a child for adoption or into foster care because 


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1 of the race, color, national origin, sex, sexual 

2 orientation, or gender identity of the qualified 

3 prospective adoptive or foster parent, or of the 

4 child involved; 

5 ‘‘(C) requiring different or additional 

6 screenings, processes, or procedures for adop7 tive or foster care placement because of the 

8 race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orienta9 tion, or gender identity of the qualified prospec10 tive adoptive or foster parent, or of the child in11 volved; 

12 ‘‘(D) requiring a qualified prospective fos13 ter parent to subscribe to subparagraph (D) or 

14 (E) of section (b)(2); or 

15 ‘‘(E) excluding a qualified prospective 

16 adoptive or foster parent because of the par17 ent’s religion. 

18 ‘‘(2) An entity unlawfully discriminates against 

19 a child by— 

20 ‘‘(A) denying to any qualified person equal 

21 access to or equal treatment during the adop22 tion or foster care evaluation and placement 

23 process because of the race, color, national ori24 gin, sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity 


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1 of the qualified prospective adoptive or foster 

2 parent, or of the child involved; 

3 ‘‘(B) delaying or denying the placement of 

4 a child for adoption or into foster care because 

5 of the race, color, national origin, sex, sexual 

6 orientation, or gender identity of the qualified 

7 prospective adoptive or foster parent, or of the 

8 child involved; 

9 ‘‘(C) requiring different or additional 

10 screenings, processes, or procedures for adop11 tive or foster care placement because of the 

12 race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orienta13 tion, or gender identity of the qualified prospec14 tive adoptive or foster parent, or of the child in15 volved; 

16 ‘‘(D) treating a child in the legal custody 

17 of the State inconsistently with the child’s gen18 der identity, as demonstrated by the child’s 

19 medical history, care or treatment of the child’s 

20 gender identity, consistent and uniform asser21 tion of the gender identity, or other evidence 

22 that the gender identity is sincerely held, is 

23 part of the child’s core identity, and is not 

24 being asserted for an improper purpose; or 


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1 ‘‘(E) subjecting any child in the legal cus2 tody of the State to any practice or treatment 

3 that seeks to change the child’s sexual orienta4 tion or gender identity. It shall be lawful for a 

5 professional counselor licensed by the State to 

6 assist a minor, without regard to sexual ori7 entation or gender identity, to prevent or ad8 dress unlawful conduct or unsafe sexual prac9 tices. 

10 ‘‘(c) INDIRECT FUNDING OF ADOPTION AND FOSTER

11 CARE SERVICES.— 

12 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF INDIRECT FUNDING

13 PROGRAM.—The Department of Health and Human 

14 Services, the Social Security Administration, the De15 partment of State, and any other agency authorized 

16 by Federal law to administer Federal financial as17 sistance for the support of adoption and foster care 

18 services shall issue final rules within two years of 

19 the enactment of this Act to create an indirect fund20 ing program that delivers Federal financial assist21 ance to eligible prospective parents for the purpose 

22 of obtaining such services through a qualified private 

23 agency that they select. 

24 ‘‘(A) This indirect funding program will 

25 entitle a qualified State resident to receive a 


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1 certificate to assist with the costs of a personal 

2 assessment, background check, home study, en3 dorsement, certification of a person’s eligibility 

4 to act as the guardian of a child in foster care 

5 or as the parent of a child available for adop6 tion, and placement of a child with an eligible 

7 individual or family. 

8 ‘‘(B) A substantial proportion of appro9 priated Federal financial assistance for adop10 tion or foster care services, including assistance 

11 available under part B and part E of title IV 

12 of the Social Security Act, shall be allocated to 

13 fund the indirect funding program through the 

14 issuance of a certificate to eligible prospective 

15 parents. 

16 ‘‘(C) Each certificate shall be worth an 

17 amount to be determined through agency rule18 making, but in no event less than $3,000 as in19 dexed to the Consumer Price Index as of Janu20 ary 1, 2019. 

21 ‘‘(D) Participation in this indirect funding 

22 program may not be delayed or denied because 

23 of a State resident’s race, color, national origin, 

24 religion, sex, sexual orientation, or gender iden25 tity. 


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1 ‘‘(E) The responsible Federal agencies 

2 shall establish policies and procedures designed 

3 to ensure that where a referral is required by 

4 this section— 

5 ‘‘(i) an appropriate and timely referral 

6 is made to an alternative provider; 

7 ‘‘(ii) all referrals are made in a man8 ner consistent with applicable privacy laws 

9 and regulations; 

10 ‘‘(iii) the provider of adoption and fos11 ter care placement or related services noti12 fies the agency of any referral; and 

13 ‘‘(iv) each applicant for and recipient 

14 of adoption or foster care placement or re15 lated services from a provider that receives 

16 Federal financial assistance will receive 

17 written notice from the provider of the pro18 tections set forth in this section when ap19 plying for or receiving such services. 

20 ‘‘(2) IMPLEMENTATION OF INDIRECT FUNDING

21 PROGRAM.— 

22 ‘‘(A) APPROVED STATE PLAN.—To be eli23 gible for Federal financial assistance for adop24 tion or foster care services under part B or part 

25 E of title IV of the Social Security Act, a State 


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1 must develop a written plan approved by the 

2 Secretary of the Department of Health and 

3 Human Services providing that— 

4 ‘‘(i) the State has established rules, 

5 policies, and procedures within 6 months 

6 after issuance of final rules under sub7 section (c)(1) that ensures the State’s full 

8 participation in the indirect funding pro9 gram by making available to each qualified 

10 State resident on request a certificate as 

11 prescribed by subsection (c)(1), to be used 

12 solely for the services enumerated in sub13 section (c)(1). This certificate may com14 mingle funding from Federal and State 

15 sources, and such commingled revenues 

16 shall be deemed Federal financial assist17 ance; 

18 ‘‘(ii) the State uses its best efforts to 

19 increase the number of private organiza20 tions within each catchment area that are 

21 qualified to provide foster care and adop22 tion services, including organizations will23 ing to serve all qualified prospective par24 ents; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) the State publishes and main2 tains a current list of licensed adoption 

3 and foster care providers with offices in 

4 the State, by catchment area, which list 

5 will identify providers that serve all appli6 cants, as well as those that serve particular 

7 communities and those that provide par8 ticular services; 

9 ‘‘(iv) the State performs a prompt and 

10 cost-free eligibility assessment for every 

11 prospective parent who applies for a cer12 tificate, informs every eligible prospective 

13 parent of the licensed adoption and foster 

14 care providers in the participant’s 

15 catchment area, and may provide addi16 tional information to facilitate the prospec17 tive parent’s selection of a provider; 

18 ‘‘(v) any State resident eligible to act 

19 as a foster parent or adoptive parent has 

20 an equal opportunity to obtain adoption or 

21 foster care related services from a provider 

22 who accepts the certificate described in 

23 section (c)(1); and 

24 ‘‘(vi) when a qualified individual seek25 ing adoption or foster care placement or 


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1 related services is unable to obtain such 

2 services from a particular provider— 

3 ‘‘(I) there is at least one other 

4 willing and qualified provider of such 

5 service in the same or adjacent 

6 catchment area that will serve all 

7 qualified individuals; 

8 ‘‘(II) the provider gives an appro9 priate and timely referral to at least 

10 one alternative provider; 

11 ‘‘(III) each referral is made in a 

12 manner consistent with applicable pri13 vacy laws and regulations; and 

14 ‘‘(IV) the provider of adoption 

15 and foster care placement or related 

16 services notifies the State of any re17 ferral that is issued. 

18 ‘‘(B) PROTECTIONS FOR PRIVATE AGEN19 CIES.—No State or local government may— 

20 ‘‘(i) deny any licensed provider of 

21 adoption or foster care placement or re22 lated services the opportunity to partici23 pate in the certificate program prescribed 

24 by subsection (c)(1); 


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1 ‘‘(ii) deny any licensed provider of 

2 adoption or foster care placement or re3 lated services reasonable payment for serv4 ices actually rendered in reliance on a cer5 tificate; 

6 ‘‘(iii) require a provider of adoption or 

7 foster care placement or related services to 

8 perform such services in a particular in9 stance as a condition of participating in 

10 the certificate program prescribed by sub11 section (c)(1), unless such service is re12 quired by Federal law or imposed pursuant 

13 to an agreement between the provider and 

14 the State that compensates the provider 

15 for such service exclusively with State reve16 nues; and 

17 ‘‘(iv) withhold, suspend, or terminate 

18 contracts, cooperative agreements, grants, 

19 or other financial assistance when a pro20 vider of adoption or foster care placement 

21 or related services takes any action per22 mitted under this title. 

23 ‘‘(3) AUTHORITY TO WITHHOLD FUNDS.—If a 

24 State fails to participate in the indirect funding pro25 gram, develop an appropriate State plan, or to comVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:14 Dec 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5331.IH H5331

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1 ply with this section in any other respect, the Sec2 retary shall, after appropriate notice and failure to 

3 comply, withhold payment to the State of amounts 

4 otherwise payable under part B or E of title IV of 

5 the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 621 et seq., 670 

6 et seq.), to the extent that the Secretary deems the 

7 withholding necessary to induce compliance. A State 

8 may elect not to comply with its duties under this 

9 section on condition that it declines Federal financial 

10 assistance for adoption and foster care. 

11 ‘‘(d) PRIVATE RECIPIENTS OF FEDERAL FINANCIAL

12 ASSISTANCE.— 

13 ‘‘(1) PROTECTION FOR DIVERSE PROVIDERS.— 

14 A private organization that is eligible to receive Fed15 eral financial assistance through the certificate pro16 gram prescribed by subsection (c)(1) for providing 

17 any adoption or foster care placement or related 

18 services may— 

19 ‘‘(A) decline to accept a certificate without 

20 being obligated to perform a particular service, 

21 despite receiving certificates to perform other 

22 covered adoption or foster care services, so long 

23 as the provider gives a referral to the certificate 

24 holder consistent with section (c)(2)(A)(vi)(II)– 

25 (IV); or 


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1 ‘‘(B) after accepting a certificate, facilitate 

2 a mutually voluntary referral that does not un3 reasonably delay or disrupt the adoption or fos4 ter care evaluation and placement process. 

5 ‘‘(2) MISREPRESENTATION.—After accepting a 

6 certificate, a provider of adoption or foster care serv7 ices may terminate its relationship with a prospec8 tive parent who makes a material misrepresentation 

9 of a fact that the prospective parent knew or should 

10 have known that the agency specifically requested. 

11 Such agency shall provide a referral consistent with 

12 subsection (c)(2)(A)(vi)(II)–(IV) and shall not lose 

13 its right under subsection (c)(2)(B)(ii) to reasonable 

14 payment for services actually performed. 

15 ‘‘(3) PROTECTION FOR CUSTODIAL PARENTS.— 

16 A private organization that has received Federal fi17 nancial assistance through the certificate program 

18 prescribed by subsection (c)(1) shall not discriminate 

19 against the custodial parent of a child in foster care 

20 because of the custodial parent’s race, color, national 

21 origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or gender 

22 identity with respect to the monitoring of a parent 

23 whom the provider has previously endorsed or with 

24 whom the provider has placed a child. 

25 ‘‘(e) MISCELLANEOUS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) CUSTODY OF CHILD IN FOSTER CARE.— 

2 For purposes of this section, a child in foster care 

3 shall be deemed to be in the legal custody of the 

4 State. 

5 ‘‘(2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

6 this section shall be construed to prohibit an entity 

7 receiving Federal financial assistance for adoption, 

8 foster care, or related services from making an indi9 vidualized placement assessment in the best interest 

10 of the child’s health, safety, and welfare. 

11 ‘‘(3) EFFECTIVE DATES.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as described in 

13 subsection (e)(1)(B), the protections under sub14 section (b) shall become effective on the date of 

15 enactment. 

16 ‘‘(B) RELIGIOUS PROVIDER EXEMPTION.— 

17 ‘‘(i) Section (b)(1) shall come into ef18 fect with respect to a religious adoption or 

19 foster care provider 12 months after the 

20 State where the provider operates has im21 plemented the certificate program as de22 scribed in section (c)(2)(A). 

23 ‘‘(ii) If the certificate program is not 

24 substantially funded as required by sub25 section (c), the protections described by 


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1 subsection (b)(1) shall become unenforce2 able as to a religious adoption or foster 

3 care provider until funding is provided or 

4 restored. 

5 ‘‘(iii) For purposes of this section, ‘re6 ligious adoption or foster care provider’ 

7 means a licensed or accredited nonprofit 

8 provider of adoption or foster care services 

9 that— 

10 ‘‘(I) is in whole or substantial 

11 part, owned, supported, controlled, or 

12 managed by a particular religion or by 

13 a particular church, denomination, 

14 convention, or association of churches 

15 or other houses of worship; or 

16 ‘‘(II) holds itself out to the public 

17 as substantially religious, has as its 

18 stated purpose in its organic docu19 ments that it is religious, and is sub20 stantially religious in its current oper21 ations. 

22 ‘‘(4) PRIVATE RIGHTS OF ACTION.— 

23 ‘‘(A) Nothing in this section shall be con24 strued to authorize a right of action against a 


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1 private organization for the exercise of rights 

2 provided under subsection (d)(1). 

3 ‘‘(B) A private right of action may be 

4 brought by a private organization under section 

5 1107. 

6 ‘‘(5) SUPPLANTING PROHIBITED.—Any Federal 

7 funds received under this section shall be used to 

8 supplement, not supplant, non-Federal funds that 

9 would otherwise be available for activities funded 

10 under this subchapter. 

11 ‘‘(6) EFFECT ON FEDERAL LAWS RESPECTING

12 RACIAL DISCRIMINATION.—Nothing in this section 

13 shall be construed to alter, affect, or supersede any 

14 Federal law that addresses discrimination because of 

15 race, color, or national origin by any State or private 

16 organization that receives Federal financial assist17 ance for adoption or foster care placement or related 

18 services. 

19 ‘‘(7) APPLICATION TO STATES WITH WAIV20 ERS.—For any State that, on the date of enactment 

21 of this Act, has in effect a waiver approved under 

22 section 1130 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

23 1320a–9), the amendments to this title shall not 

24 apply to that State before the expiration of the waiv25 er (determined without regard to any extensions), to 


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1 the extent that an amendment is inconsistent with 

2 the terms of the waiver. 

3 ‘‘(8) EFFECT ON STATE LAWS.—Nothing in 

4 this section shall be construed to supersede a State 

5 or local law, policy, or contract addressing the legal 

6 conditions of receiving Government funding for 

7 adoption or foster care services, provided that the 

8 State or local law does not directly conflict with this 

9 section. 

10 ‘‘SEC. 611. SEX-SPECIFIC SEGREGATION OR PROGRAMS. 

11 ‘‘(a) If sex segregation or sex-specific programming 

12 is necessary to the essential operation of a program or 

13 activity, nothing in this title shall prevent any such pro14 gram or activity from considering an individual’s sex, pro15 vided that where appropriate to accomplish the purpose 

16 of the program or activity, individuals are treated in ac17 cordance with their gender identity. 

18 ‘‘(b) An educational institution receiving Federal fi19 nancial assistance shall reasonably accommodate a student 

20 who requests greater privacy with respect to the use of 

21 a facility designated for the exclusive use of persons of 

22 the same sex, provided that the accommodation does not 

23 exclude any student from such a facility to which the stu24 dent has a right of access or otherwise prejudice any right 

25 or privilege protected under this title. 


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1 ‘‘(c) Nothing in this title shall be construed to alter 

2 or affect the Violence Against Women Act of 1994. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 612. NEUTRALITY WITH RESPECT TO ABORTION. 

4 ‘‘Nothing in this title shall be construed to require 

5 or prohibit any person, or public or private entity, to pro6 vide or pay for any benefit or service, including the use 

7 of facilities, related to an abortion. Nothing in this title 

8 shall be construed to permit a penalty to be imposed on 

9 any person or any individual because such person or indi10 vidual is seeking or has received any benefit or service re11 lated to a legal abortion. 

12 ‘‘SEC. 613. NO EFFECT ON TITLE IX. 

13 ‘‘Nothing contained in this title shall be construed to 

14 alter or affect title IX of the Education Amendments of 

15 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.). Any claim that a person 

16 has been excluded because of sex from participation in, 

17 or denied the benefits of, or subjected to discrimination 

18 with respect to any education program or activity that re19 ceives Federal financial assistance shall be governed by 

20 title IX and not this title. 

21 ‘‘SEC. 614. ADDITIONAL DEFINITIONS. 

22 ‘‘For purposes of this title: 

23 ‘‘(1) The term ‘gender identity’ means the gen24 der-related identity, appearance, mannerisms, or 

25 other gender-related characteristics of an individual, 


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1 without regard to the individual’s designated sex at 

2 birth. A person’s gender identity can be shown by 

3 providing evidence, including medical history, care or 

4 treatment of the gender identity, consistent and uni5 form assertion of the gender identity, or other evi6 dence that the gender identity is sincerely held, part 

7 of a person’s core identity, and not being asserted 

8 for an improper purpose. 

9 ‘‘(2) The terms ‘religion’ and ‘religious’ include 

10 all aspects of religious belief, observance, and prac11 tice, whether or not compelled by, or central to, a 

12 system of religion. 

13 ‘‘(3) The term ‘religious corporation, associa14 tion, educational institution, or society’ includes— 

15 ‘‘(A) a church, synagogue, mosque, temple, 

16 or other house of worship; 

17 ‘‘(B) a nonprofit corporation, association, 

18 educational institution, society, or other non19 profit entity that is, in whole or substantial 

20 part, owned, supported, controlled, or managed 

21 by a particular religion or by a particular 

22 church, denomination, convention, or associa23 tion of churches or other houses of worship; or 

24 ‘‘(C) a nonprofit corporation, association, 

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1 profit entity that holds itself out to the public 

2 as substantially religious, has as its stated pur3 pose in its organic documents that it is reli4 gious, and is substantially religious in its cur5 rent operations. 

6 ‘‘(4) The term ‘religious educational institution’ 

7 includes any preschool, primary, secondary or post8 secondary educational institution that is— 

9 ‘‘(A) in whole or in substantial part, 

10 owned, supported, controlled, or managed by a 

11 particular religion or by a particular church, de12 nomination, convention, or association of 

13 churches or other houses of worship; or 

14 ‘‘(B) a nonprofit corporation organized for 

15 educational purposes that holds itself out to the 

16 public as substantially religious, has as its stat17 ed purpose in its organic documents that it is 

18 religious, and is substantially religious in its 

19 current operations. 

20 ‘‘(5) The term ‘sexual orientation’ means homo21 sexuality, heterosexuality, or bisexuality.’’. 

22 SEC. 4. EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION PROHIBITED. 

23 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 701 of the Civil Rights 

24 Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (j) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after 

2 ‘‘(j)’’; 

3 (2) in subsection (j)(1) by inserting ‘‘, after ini4 tiating and engaging in an affirmative and bona fide 

5 effort,’’ after ‘‘unable’’; 

6 (3) in subsection (j)(1) by striking ‘‘an employ7 ee’s’’ and all that follows through ‘‘religious’’ and in8 serting ‘‘an employee’s religious’’; 

9 (4) by adding at the end of subsection (j)(1) 

10 the following: 

11 ‘‘(2)(A) In this subsection, the term ‘employee’ 

12 includes an employee (as defined in subsection (f)), 

13 or a prospective employee, who, with or without rea14 sonable accommodation, is qualified to perform the 

15 essential functions of the employment position that 

16 such individual holds or desires. 

17 ‘‘(B) In this paragraph, the term ‘perform the 

18 essential functions’ includes carrying out the core re19 quirements of an employment position and does not 

20 include carrying out practices relating to clothing, 

21 practices relating to taking time off, or other prac22 tices that may have a temporary or tangential im23 pact on the ability to perform job functions, if any 

24 of the practices described in this subparagraph re25 strict the ability to wear religious clothing, to take 


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1 time off for a holy day, or to participate in a reli2 gious observance or practice. 

3 ‘‘(3) In this subsection, the term ‘undue hard4 ship’ means an accommodation requiring significant 

5 difficulty or expense. 

6 ‘‘(A) For purposes of determining whether 

7 an accommodation requires significant difficulty 

8 or expense, factors to be considered in making 

9 the determination shall include— 

10 ‘‘(i) the identifiable cost of the accom11 modation, including the costs of loss of 

12 productivity and of retraining or hiring 

13 employees or transferring employees from 

14 one facility to another; 

15 ‘‘(ii) the overall financial resources 

16 and size of the employer involved, relative 

17 to the number of its employees; 

18 ‘‘(iii) for an employer with multiple 

19 facilities, the geographic separateness or 

20 administrative or fiscal relationship of the 

21 facilities; and 

22 ‘‘(iv) whether the accommodation will 

23 obstruct the employer from providing its 

24 customers or clients the full and equal en25 joyment of the goods, services, facilities, 


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1 privileges, advantages, and accommoda2 tions offered. 

3 ‘‘(B) An employer shall not be required to 

4 provide an accommodation that will result in 

5 the violation of Federal or State law nor result 

6 in liability for a hostile work environment.’’; 

7 and 

8 (5) by inserting after subsection (n) the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘(o)(1) The term ‘gender identity’ means the gender11 related identity, appearance, mannerisms, or other gender12 related characteristics of an individual, without regard to 

13 the individual’s designated sex at birth. A person’s gender 

14 identity can be shown by providing evidence, including 

15 medical history, care or treatment of the gender identity, 

16 consistent and uniform assertion of the gender identity, 

17 or other evidence that the gender identity is sincerely held, 

18 part of a person’s core identity, and not being asserted 

19 for an improper purpose. 

20 ‘‘(2) The term ‘sexual orientation’ means homosex21 uality, heterosexuality, or bisexuality. 

22 ‘‘(3) The terms ‘religion’ and ‘religious’ include all 

23 aspects of religious belief, observance, and practice, wheth24 er or not compelled by, or central to, a system of religion. 


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1 ‘‘(4) The term ‘religious corporation, association, 

2 educational institution, or society’ includes— 

3 ‘‘(A) a church, synagogue, mosque, temple, or 

4 other house of worship; 

5 ‘‘(B) a nonprofit corporation, association, edu6 cational institution, society, or other nonprofit entity 

7 that is, in whole or substantial part, owned, sup8 ported, controlled, or managed by a particular reli9 gion or by a particular church, denomination, con10 vention, or association of churches or other houses 

11 of worship; or 

12 ‘‘(C) a nonprofit corporation, association, edu13 cational institution, society, or other nonprofit entity 

14 that holds itself out to the public as substantially re15 ligious, has as its stated purpose in its organic docu16 ments that it is religious, and is substantially reli17 gious in its current operations.’’. 

18 (b) EXEMPTION.—Section 702(a) of the Civil Rights 

19 Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–1(a)) is amended— 

20 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(a)’’; 

21 (2) by striking ‘‘State, or’’ and inserting the 

22 following: 

23 ‘‘State. 

24 ‘‘(2)(A) This title shall not apply’’; and 


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1 (3) by adding at the end of paragraph (2) the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(B) EXEMPT ORGANIZATIONS.—With respect 

4 to claims of employment discrimination because of 

5 sexual orientation or gender identity, nothing in this 

6 subchapter shall apply to the following: 

7 ‘‘(i) a church or its integrated auxiliaries, 

8 a convention or association of churches, or a re9 ligious order, as described in section 

10 6033(a)(3)(A)(i) and section 6033(a)(3)(A)(iii) 

11 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; 

12 ‘‘(ii) a religious organization described in 

13 sections 501(c)(3) and 509(a)(1), (2), or (3) 

14 that is covered by an Internal Revenue Service 

15 group exemption letter issued to a church or a 

16 convention or association of churches; 

17 ‘‘(iii) a religious educational institution 

18 that is eligible for exemption under section 

19 703(e)(2) of this subchapter; 

20 ‘‘(iv) a religious corporation, association, 

21 or society under section 702(a) of this sub22 chapter that is eligible for tax-exempt status 

23 under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue 

24 Code of 1986 and that employs only individuals 

25 of the employer’s religion, unless the employee 


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1 demonstrates that the employer has not applied 

2 with reasonable consistency its religious stand3 ard cited as the reason for the adverse employ4 ment action; or 

5 ‘‘(v) any association exclusively composed 

6 of employers exempt under subparagraphs 

7 (2)(B)(i)–(iv). 

8 ‘‘(C) A claim under this subchapter 

9 against an employer described by section 

10 702(a)(2)(B) for discrimination because of sex 

11 shall not include claims of discrimination be12 cause of sexual orientation or gender identity. 

13 This provision shall not otherwise affect claims 

14 of sex discrimination, and nothing in this provi15 sion shall prevent a person, regardless of sexual 

16 orientation or gender identity, from bringing a 

17 claim of sex discrimination. 

18 ‘‘(D) No religious corporation, association, 

19 or society otherwise eligible under section 

20 (2)(B)(iv) of this section shall be ineligible be21 cause of nonrecognition under section 501(c)(3) 

22 of the Internal Revenue Code, unless such tax 

23 treatment is consistent with section 

24 501(c)(3)(B) of that Code. 


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1 ‘‘(E) No employer whose primary purpose 

2 and activity is to deliver medical services shall 

3 be eligible for the exemptions under section 

4 702(a)(2)(B). 

5 ‘‘(F) Nothing in this section shall prejudice 

6 rights and defenses available under sections 

7 702(a) and 703(e)(2).’’. 

8 (c) UNLAWFUL EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES.—Section 

9 703 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 2000e–2) is amended— 

10 (1) except in subsection (e), by inserting ‘‘sex11 ual orientation, gender identity,’’ immediately before 

12 ‘‘or national origin’’ each place it appears; 

13 (2) in subsection (e)(1), by striking ‘‘enter14 prise,’’ and inserting ‘‘enterprise, if an individual is 

15 recognized as qualified in accordance with gender 

16 identity when sex is a bona fide occupational quali17 fication,’’; 

18 (3) in the heading of subsection (m), by strik19 ing ‘‘SEX,’’ and inserting ‘‘SEX, SEXUAL ORIENTA20 TION, GENDER IDENTITY,’’; and 

21 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(o)(1) In this section: 

23 ‘‘(A) The term ‘employee’ has the meaning 

24 given the term in section 701(j)(2). 


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1 ‘‘(B) The term ‘leave of general usage’ means 

2 leave provided under the policy or program of an 

3 employer, under which— 

4 ‘‘(i) an employee may take leave by adjust5 ing or altering the work schedule or assignment 

6 of the employee according to criteria deter7 mined by the employer; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) the employee may determine the pur9 pose for which the leave is to be utilized. 

10 ‘‘(2) For purposes of determining whether an em11 ployer has committed an unlawful employment practice 

12 under this title by failing to provide a reasonable accom13 modation to the religious observance or practice of an em14 ployee, for an accommodation to be considered to be rea15 sonable, the accommodation shall remove the conflict be16 tween employment requirements and the religious observ17 ance or practice of the employee. 

18 ‘‘(3) An employer shall be considered to commit such 

19 a practice by failing to provide such a reasonable accom20 modation for an employee if the employer refuses to per21 mit the employee to utilize leave of general usage to re22 move such a conflict solely because the leave will be used 

23 to accommodate the religious observance or practice of the 

24 employee.’’. 


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1 (d) OTHER UNLAWFUL EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES.— 

2 Section 704(b) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 

3 2000e–3) is amended— 

4 (1) in subsection (b) by inserting ‘‘sexual ori5 entation, gender identity,’’ before ‘‘national origin’’ 

6 each place it appears; 

7 (2) in subsection (b) by striking ‘‘employment.’’ 

8 and inserting ‘‘employment, if an individual is recog9 nized as qualified in accordance with gender identity 

10 when sex is a bona fide occupational qualification.’’; 

11 and 

12 (3) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(c) PROHIBITED SANCTIONS FOR CERTAIN EM15 PLOYEE SPEECH.— 

16 ‘‘(1) An employee may express the employee’s 

17 religious, political, or moral beliefs in the workplace 

18 in a reasonable, nondisruptive, and nonharassing 

19 way on equal terms with similar types of expression 

20 of beliefs allowed by the employer in the workplace, 

21 unless the expression is in direct and substantial 

22 conflict with the essential business-related interests 

23 of the employer. 

24 ‘‘(2) An employer may not discharge, demote, 

25 terminate, or refuse to hire any person, or retaliate 


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1 against, harass, or discriminate in matters of com2 pensation or in terms, privileges, and conditions of 

3 employment against any person otherwise qualified 

4 for employment, for lawful expression or expressive 

5 activity outside of the workplace regarding the per6 son’s beliefs that— 

7 ‘‘(A) marriage is or should be recognized 

8 as a union of one man and one woman, or one 

9 woman and one woman, or one man and one 

10 man; or 

11 ‘‘(B) sexual activity should or should not 

12 be reserved for spouses within a marriage. 

13 The employee’s expression is not protected under 

14 subsection (c)(2) if it directly and materially im15 pedes the employee’s performance of an essential job 

16 function. 

17 ‘‘(3) Paragraphs (1) and (2) shall not apply to 

18 a nonprofit organization that operates to express or 

19 advocate particular viewpoints, or to an employer 

20 that is a religious corporation, association, edu21 cational institution, or society covered by section 

22 701(o)(4).’’. 

23 (e) CLAIMS.—Section 706(g)(2)(A) of the Civil 

24 Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–5(g)(2)(A)) is 


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1 amended by striking ‘‘sex,’’ and inserting ‘‘sex, sexual ori2 entation, gender identity,’’. 

3 (f) EMPLOYMENT BY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.—Sec4 tion 717 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 

5 2000e–16) is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘sex,’’ and in7 serting ‘‘sex, sexual orientation, gender identity,’’; 

8 and 

9 (2) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘sex’’ and in10 serting ‘‘sex, sexual orientation, gender identity,’’. 

11 (g) GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE RIGHTS ACT OF

12 1991.—The Government Employee Rights Act of 1991 

13 (title III of Public Law 102–166; 42 U.S.C. 2000e–16 et 

14 seq.) is amended— 

15 (1) in section 301(b), by striking ‘‘sex,’’ and in16 serting ‘‘sex, sexual orientation, gender identity,’’; 

17 and 

18 (2) in section 302(a)(1), by striking ‘‘sex,’’ and 

19 inserting ‘‘sex, sexual orientation, gender identity,’’. 

20 (h) ADDITIONAL FACILITIES NOT REQUIRED.—The 

21 Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–18) is amend22 ed by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘SEC. 719. ‘Nothing in this subchapter shall be con24 strued to require the construction of new or additional fa25 cilities.’ ’’. 


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1 (i) PRIVACY IN SEX-DESIGNATED FACILITIES.—The 

2 Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–19), as amend3 ed by subsection (h), is amended by adding at the end 

4 the following: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 720. If equivalent facilities and benefits are 

6 made available and without regard to a prohibited classi7 fication under this subchapter, an employer shall reason8 ably accommodate an employee who requests greater pri9 vacy within a facility intended for the exclusive use of per10 sons of the same sex.’’. 

11 (j) INTERVENTION.—Section 902 of the Civil Rights 

12 Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000h–2) is amended by inserting 

13 ‘‘sexual orientation, gender identity,’’ before ‘‘or national 

14 origin,’’. 

15 (k) CONGRESSIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF

16 1995.—Section 201(a)(1) of the Congressional Account17 ability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1311(a)(1)) is amended by 

18 inserting ‘‘sexual orientation, gender identity,’’ before ‘‘or 

19 national origin,’’. 

20 (l) TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE.—Chapter 23 of 

21 title 5, United States Code, is amended— 

22 (1) in section 2301(b)(2), by striking ‘‘sex,’’ 

23 and inserting ‘‘sex, sexual orientation, gender iden24 tity,’’; and 

25 (2) in section 2302— 


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1 (A) in subsection (b)(1)(A), by inserting 

2 ‘‘sexual orientation, gender identity,’’ before ‘‘or 

3 national origin,’’; and 

4 (B) in subsection (d)(1), by inserting ‘‘sex5 ual orientation, gender identity,’’ before ‘‘or na6 tional origin;’’. 

7 SEC. 5. HOUSING DISCRIMINATION PROHIBITED. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

9 (1) Section 804 of the Fair Housing Act (42 

10 U.S.C. 3604) is amended by inserting ‘‘sexual ori11 entation, gender identity,’’ after ‘‘sex’’ each place 

12 that term appears. 

13 (2) Section 805 of the Fair Housing Act (42 

14 U.S.C. 3605) is amended by inserting ‘‘sexual ori15 entation, gender identity,’’ after ‘‘sex’’ each place 

16 that term appears. 

17 (3) Section 806 of the Fair Housing Act (42 

18 U.S.C. 3606) is amended by inserting ‘‘sexual ori19 entation, gender identity,’’ after ‘‘sex’’ each place 

20 that term appears. 

21 (4) Section 807 of the Fair Housing Act (42 

22 U.S.C. 3607) is amended by inserting ‘‘or to persons 

23 who adhere to its religious beliefs, observances, te24 nets, or practices’’ immediately after the phrase ‘‘of 

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1 liefs, observances, tenets, or practices’’ immediately 

2 before ‘‘is restricted.’’ 

3 (5) Section 808 of the Fair Housing Act (42 

4 U.S.C. 3608) is amended by inserting ‘‘sexual ori5 entation, gender identity,’’ after ‘‘sex’’ each place 

6 that term appears. 

7 (b) PREVENTION OF INTIMIDATION.—Section 901 of 

8 the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3631) is amended 

9 by inserting ‘‘sexual orientation, gender identity,’’ after 

10 ‘‘sex,’’ each place that term appears. 

11 (c) DEFINITIONS.—Section 802 of the Fair Housing 

12 Act (42 U.S.C. 3602) is amended by adding at the end 

13 the following: 

14 ‘‘(p) ‘Sexual orientation’ means homosexuality, het15 erosexuality, or bisexuality. 

16 ‘‘(q) ‘Gender identity’ means the gender-related iden17 tity, appearance, mannerisms, or other gender-related 

18 characteristics of an individual, without regard to the indi19 vidual’s designated sex at birth. A person’s gender identity 

20 can be shown by providing evidence, including medical his21 tory, care or treatment of the gender identity, consistent 

22 and uniform assertion of the gender identity, or other evi23 dence that the gender identity is sincerely held, part of 

24 a person’s core identity, and not being asserted for an im25 proper purpose. 


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1 ‘‘(r) ‘Operates’ includes the rental or occupancy of 

2 dwellings through a lease or contract with the dwelling’s 

3 actual owner or primary operator. 

4 ‘‘(s) ‘Religion’ has the same meaning as section 701 

5 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e). 

6 ‘‘(t) ‘Religious organization, association, or society’ 

7 has the same meaning as section 701 of the Civil Rights 

8 Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e).’’. 

9 SEC. 6. OTHER NONDISCRIMINATION REQUIREMENTS. 

10 (a) MARRIAGE RECOGNITION.— 

11 (1) Section 7 of title 1, United States Code, is 

12 amended to read as follows: 

13 ‘‘§ 7. Marriage 

14 ‘‘(a) For the purposes of any Federal law in which 

15 marital status is a factor, an individual shall be considered 

16 married if that individual’s marriage is valid in the State 

17 where the marriage was entered into or, in the case of 

18 a marriage entered into outside any State, if the marriage 

19 is valid in the place where entered into and the marriage 

20 could have been entered into in a State. 

21 ‘‘(b) In this section, the term ‘State’ means a State, 

22 the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto 

23 Rico, or any other territory or possession of the United 

24 States.’’. 


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1 (2) Section 1738C of title 28, United States 

2 Code, is repealed, and the table of sections at the be3 ginning of chapter 115 of title 28, United States 

4 Code, is amended by striking the item relating to 

5 that section. 

6 (b) DESEGREGATION OF PUBLIC FACILITIES.—Sec7 tion 301(a) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 

8 2000b(a)) is amended by inserting ‘‘sex, sexual orienta9 tion, gender identity,’’ before ‘‘or national origin’’. 

10 (c) DISCRIMINATION IN FEDERAL JURY SERVICE

11 PROHIBITED.—Chapter 121 of title 28, United States 

12 Code, is amended— 

13 (1) in section 1862, by inserting ‘‘sexual ori14 entation, gender identity,’’ after ‘‘sex,’’ each place 

15 that term appears; 

16 (2) in section 1867, by inserting ‘‘sexual ori17 entation, gender identity,’’ after ‘‘sex,’’ each place 

18 that term appears; and 

19 (3) in section 1869 by adding at the end the 

20 following: 

21 ‘‘(l) The term ‘sexual orientation’ means homosex22 uality, heterosexuality, or bisexuality. 

23 ‘‘(m) The term ‘gender identity’ means the gender24 related identity, appearance, mannerisms, or other gender25 related characteristics of an individual, without regard to 


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1 the individual’s designated sex at birth. A person’s gender 

2 identity can be shown by providing evidence, including 

3 medical history, care or treatment of the gender identity, 

4 consistent and uniform assertion of the gender identity, 

5 or other evidence that the gender identity is sincerely held, 

6 part of a person’s core identity, and not being asserted 

7 for an improper purpose.’’. 

8 (d) DISCRIMINATION IN CREDIT PROHIBITED.—The 

9 Equal Credit Opportunity Act (15 U.S.C. 1691 et seq.) 

10 is amended— 

11 (1) in section 701(a)(1) by striking ‘‘or’’ after 

12 ‘‘sex’’ and inserting ‘‘, sexual orientation, gender 

13 identity,’’ after ‘‘sex’’; 

14 (2) in section 702— 

15 (A) by redesignating subsections (f) and 

16 (g) as subsections (g) and (i), respectively; 

17 (B) by inserting after subsection (e) the 

18 following: 

19 ‘‘(f) The term ‘gender identity’ means the gender-re20 lated identity, appearance, mannerisms, or other gender21 related characteristics of an individual, without regard to 

22 the individual’s designated sex at birth. A person’s gender 

23 identity can be shown by providing evidence, including 

24 medical history, care or treatment of the gender identity, 

25 consistent and uniform assertion of the gender identity, 


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1 or other evidence that the gender identity is sincerely held, 

2 part of a person’s core identity, and not being asserted 

3 for an improper purpose.’’; and 

4 (C) by inserting after subsection (g), as so 

5 redesignated, the following: 

6 ‘‘(h) The term ‘sexual orientation’ means homosex7 uality, heterosexuality, or bisexuality.’’; and 

8 (3) in section 705, by inserting ‘‘, sexual ori9 entation, gender identity,’’ after ‘‘sex’’. 

10 (e) DISCRIMINATION IN REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT

11 PROHIBITED.—Section 412(a)(5) of the Immigration and 

12 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1522(a)(5)) is amended by in13 serting ‘‘sexual orientation, gender identity,’’ after ‘‘sex,’’. 

14 (f) SAFE SCHOOLS.—Title IV of the Elementary and 

15 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7101 et 

16 seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘PART G—SAFE SCHOOLS IMPROVEMENT 

18 ‘‘SEC. 4701. PURPOSE. 

19 ‘‘The purpose of this part is to address the problem 

20 of bullying and harassment conduct of students in public 

21 elementary schools and secondary schools. 

22 ‘‘SEC. 4702. ANTI-BULLYING POLICIES. 

23 ‘‘(a) BULLYING.—In this part, the term ‘bullying’ in24 cludes cyber-bullying through electronic communications 

25 that take place away from school or a school-sponsored 


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1 or school-related event, but only if the cyber-bullying in2 fringes on the rights of the student at school as set forth 

3 in subparagraph (A) or (B) of subsection (b)(1). 

4 ‘‘(b) POLICIES.—A State that receives a grant under 

5 this title shall require all local educational agencies in the 

6 State with authority to administer public elementary and 

7 secondary schools to carry out the following: 

8 ‘‘(1) Establish policies that prevent and prohibit 

9 conduct, including bullying and harassment— 

10 ‘‘(A) that is sufficiently severe, persistent, 

11 or pervasive that a reasonable person would ex12 pect such bullying or harassment to limit a stu13 dent’s ability to participate in, or benefit from, 

14 a program or activity of a public school or local 

15 educational agency; or 

16 ‘‘(B) that is sufficiently severe, persistent, 

17 or pervasive that a reasonable person would ex18 pect such bullying or harassment to create a 

19 hostile or abusive educational environment, ad20 versely affecting a student’s education, at a 

21 program or activity of a public school or local 

22 educational agency, including acts of verbal, 

23 nonverbal, or physical aggression or intimida24 tion. 


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1 ‘‘(2) The policies required under paragraph (1) 

2 shall include a prohibition of bullying or harassment 

3 conduct based on— 

4 ‘‘(A) a student’s actual or perceived race, 

5 color, national origin, religion, disability, sex, 

6 sexual orientation, or gender identity; 

7 ‘‘(B) the actual or perceived race, color, 

8 national origin, religion, disability, sex, sexual 

9 orientation, or gender identity of a person with 

10 whom a student associates or has associated; or 

11 ‘‘(C) any other distinguishing characteris12 tics that may be defined by the State or local 

13 educational agency, including being homeless or 

14 the child or ward of a member of the Armed 

15 Forces. 

16 ‘‘(3) Provide— 

17 ‘‘(A) annual notice to students, parents, 

18 and educational professionals describing the full 

19 range of the local educational agency’s policies 

20 required under paragraph (1) and shall include 

21 an affirmative statement of the protections for 

22 free speech, assembly, and expression under the 

23 First Amendment and any other applicable law; 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(B) grievance procedures for students or 

2 parents to register complaints regarding the 

3 prohibited conduct contained in such local edu4 cational agency’s discipline policies, including— 

5 ‘‘(i) the name of the local educational 

6 agency officials who are designated as re7 sponsible for receiving such complaints; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(ii) timelines that the local edu10 cational agency will establish in the resolu11 tion of such complaints. 

12 ‘‘(4) Collect annual incidence and frequency of 

13 incidents data about the conduct prohibited by the 

14 policies described in paragraph (1) at the school 

15 building level that are accurate and complete and 

16 publicly report such data at the school level and 

17 local educational agency level. The local educational 

18 agency shall ensure that victims or persons respon19 sible for such conduct are not identifiable. 

20 ‘‘(5) Encourage positive and preventative ap21 proaches to school discipline that minimize students’ 

22 removal from instruction and ensure that students, 

23 including students described in paragraph (2), are 

24 not subject to disproportionate punishment. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 4703. STATE REPORTS. 

2 ‘‘The chief executive officer of a State that receives 

3 a grant under this title, in cooperation with the State edu4 cational agency, shall submit a biennial report to the Sec5 retary— 

6 ‘‘(1) on the information reported by local edu7 cational agencies in the State pursuant to section 

8 4702(b)(4); and 

9 ‘‘(2) describing the State’s plans for supporting 

10 local educational agency efforts to address the con11 duct prohibited by the policies described in section 

12 4702(b)(1). 

13 ‘‘SEC. 4704. EVALUATION. 

14 ‘‘(a) BIENNIAL EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall 

15 conduct an independent biennial evaluation of programs 

16 and policies to combat bullying and harassment in elemen17 tary schools and secondary schools, including implementa18 tion of the requirements described in section 4702, includ19 ing whether such requirements have appreciably reduced 

20 the level of the prohibited conduct and have conducted ef21 fective parent involvement and programs that train cov22 ered school employees how to identify and stop bullying 

23 and harassment, as those terms are defined in section 

24 4702. 

25 ‘‘(b) DATA COLLECTION.—The Commissioner for 

26 Education Statistics shall collect data from States, that 


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1 are subject to independent review, to determine the inci2 dence and frequency of conduct prohibited by the policies 

3 described in section 4702. 

4 ‘‘(c) BIENNIAL REPORT.—Not later than January 1 

5 of the first calendar year that begins after the effective 

6 date of this section and every 2 years thereafter, the Sec7 retary shall submit to the President and Congress a report 

8 on the findings of the evaluation conducted under sub9 section (a) together with the data collected under sub10 section (b) and data submitted by the States under section 

11 4703. 

12 ‘‘SEC. 4705. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS. 

13 ‘‘(a) FEDERAL AND STATE NONDISCRIMINATION

14 LAWS.—Nothing in this part shall be construed to invali15 date or limit rights, remedies, procedures, or legal stand16 ards available to victims of discrimination under any other 

17 Federal law or law of a State or political subdivision of 

18 a State, including title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 

19 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.), title IX of the Education 

20 Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.), section 

21 504 or 505 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 

22 794, 794a), or the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 

23 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.). The obligations imposed by this 

24 part are in addition to those imposed by title VI of the 

25 Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.), title 


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1 IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 

2 1681 et seq.), section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 

3 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794), and the Americans with Disabil4 ities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.). 

5 ‘‘(b) FREE SPEECH AND EXPRESSION.—Nothing in 

6 this part shall be construed to deny any student a right 

7 of free speech, assembly, or expression protected under the 

8 Constitution or any other Federal law, or to permit unlaw9 ful viewpoint discrimination. No policy established under 

10 this part may prevent or punish a student’s expression of 

11 religious, political, or philosophical beliefs in the classroom 

12 or at school activities when such expression takes place 

13 on equal terms with similar expressions of belief allowed 

14 by the school in the same setting. 

15 ‘‘SEC. 4706. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

16 ‘‘Nothing in this part shall be construed to prohibit 

17 a State or local entity from enacting any law with respect 

18 to the prevention of bullying or harassment of students 

19 that is not inconsistent with this part.’’. 

20 SEC. 7. PROHIBITION ON RETALIATION AND UNEQUAL 

21 TREATMENT. 

22 Title XI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 

23 2000h et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol24 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 1107. NONRETALIATION. 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

3 ‘‘(1) No government shall take any adverse ac4 tion because of— 

5 ‘‘(A) the existence or invocation of any ex6 emption, defense, or remedy under this Act; or 

7 ‘‘(B) the existence or invocation of any 

8 protection from discrimination under this Act. 

9 ‘‘(2) Nothing in this subsection shall be con10 strued to invalidate or supersede a law without evi11 dence that it was enacted, enforced, or administered 

12 for reasons prohibited by paragraph (1). 

13 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN GOVERNMENT AC14 TIONS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) PERSONS PROTECTED FROM DISCRIMINA16 TION.—No government shall take any adverse action 

17 that, as applied, conflicts with any protection from 

18 discrimination under this Act. 

19 ‘‘(2) CERTAIN RELIGIOUS PROPERTIES AND RE20 LIGIOUS EMPLOYERS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) No government shall take any ad22 verse action that, as applied, is inconsistent 

23 with the exemptions under section 201(b)(11). 

24 ‘‘(B) No government shall take any ad25 verse action that, as applied, abridges the ex26 emptions provided under section 702(a)(2)(B). 


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1 ‘‘(C) Nothing in this subsection shall be 

2 construed to invalidate any other law that oth3 erwise applies to a religious property exempt 

4 under section 201(b)(11) or a religious em5 ployer exempt under section 702(a)(2)(B). 

6 ‘‘(3) ADOPTION AND FOSTER CARE FUNDING, 

7 LICENSURE, AND CERTIFICATION.—No State shall 

8 enforce a law with respect to a particular contract, 

9 cooperative agreement, grant, guarantee, or benefit 

10 if that law, as applied, abridges any right or benefit 

11 under section 610, unless the State demonstrates 

12 that the contract, cooperative agreement, grant, 

13 guarantee, or benefit is solely funded by revenues of 

14 a State or political subdivision thereof. A State or 

15 its political subdivision may commingle its revenues 

16 with Federal financial assistance for the purpose of 

17 providing financial aid to adoption agencies; such 

18 commingled revenues shall be deemed Federal finan19 cial assistance. No government may deny, withhold, 

20 or suspend the license or certification of a religiously 

21 affiliated adoption or foster care agency because of 

22 its religious teachings or practices, provided that the 

23 agency complies with generally applicable health and 

24 safety standards. 

25 ‘‘(c) RELIGIOUS EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) NO ADVERSE ACTION FOR RELIGIOUS MIS2 SION.—No government shall take any adverse action 

3 against a religious educational institution, its fac4 ulty, students, or graduates because of its religious 

5 mission. 

6 ‘‘(2) ACCREDITATION.—No accrediting agency 

7 shall take an adverse action against a religious edu8 cational institution for noncompliance with an ac9 creditation standard that would require the institu10 tion to act inconsistently with its religious mission 

11 as related to marriage, family, sexuality, or gender 

12 identity, except as these matters pertain to race, 

13 color, or national origin. Nothing in this provision 

14 shall be interpreted to deny an accrediting agency 

15 the authority under section 496(a) of the Higher 

16 Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1099b(a)) to take action 

17 necessary to ensure that the courses or programs of 

18 instruction, training, or study offered by an institu19 tion of higher education are of sufficient quality to 

20 achieve the stated objective for which the courses or 

21 the programs are offered. An accrediting agency 

22 does not demonstrate that its adverse action against 

23 a religious educational institution is authorized 

24 under section 1099b(a) merely by showing that the 

25 action results from a rule of general applicability. 


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1 ‘‘(3) REMEDIES.—A religious educational insti2 tution harmed by a violation of this subsection may 

3 obtain injunctive relief against the responsible ac4 crediting agency. Upon receiving a copy of such an 

5 injunction, the Department of Education shall deem 

6 the affected religious educational institution as ac7 credited for all purposes under Federal law. The De8 partment shall deny recognition for any purpose to 

9 an accrediting agency that knowingly violates this 

10 subsection. An accrediting agency that loses its gov11 ernment recognition may apply with the Department 

12 to restore its recognition if the agency demonstrates 

13 that the violation resulted from mistake or inadvert14 ence. Within two years of the enactment of this Act, 

15 the Department shall issue final rules prescribing 

16 the procedures governing this section. 

17 ‘‘(d) NO RELIGIOUS TESTS.—No government shall— 

18 ‘‘(1) exclude a person from an occupation by 

19 depriving a person of professional credentials or im20 posing a fine or penalty, including through a private 

21 right of action, because of the person’s religious be22 liefs or affiliations, provided that the person other23 wise complies with occupational or professional 

24 standards that, in purpose and effect, are neutral to25 ward religion and generally applicable; or 


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1 ‘‘(2) determine eligibility for public office be2 cause of religious beliefs or affiliations. 

3 ‘‘(e) SCOPE OF APPLICATION.—Subsections (a) 

4 through (d) apply in any case in which— 

5 ‘‘(1) section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment to 

6 the Constitution of the United States grants law7 making power to Congress; 

8 ‘‘(2) action by a government or an accrediting 

9 agency would affect commerce with foreign nations, 

10 among the several States, or with Indian Tribes; 

11 ‘‘(3) a State or political subdivision receives 

12 Federal financial assistance, to the full extent per13 mitted by Congress’ authority under the Spending 

14 Power in article I, section 8 of the Constitution; 

15 ‘‘(4) Congress has power under the Necessary 

16 and Proper Clause of article I, section 8 to effec17 tuate the exercise of its enumerated powers; or 

18 ‘‘(5) the Constitution grants Congress any 

19 other lawmaking power. 

20 ‘‘(f) JUDICIAL RELIEF.— 

21 ‘‘(1) CAUSE OF ACTION.—A person or organiza22 tion may assert an actual violation of this section, 

23 or a credible threat of such a violation, as a claim 

24 or defense in a judicial, administrative, or arbitra25 tion proceeding and obtain appropriate relief against 


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1 a government or accrediting agency, including attor2 neys’ fees. A State shall not be immune under the 

3 Eleventh Amendment to the Constitution of the 

4 United States from a claim under this section. 

5 ‘‘(2) REMOVAL.—Any proceeding brought in a 

6 State court for which a claimant invokes this section 

7 as a claim, counterclaim, or defense may be removed 

8 by the claimant to the district court of the United 

9 States for the district and division embracing the 

10 place where such action is pending. 

11 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In section 1107: 

12 ‘‘(1) The term ‘abridges’ means to diminish, 

13 burden, hinder, or obstruct. 

14 ‘‘(2) The term ‘accreditation’ means the status 

15 of public recognition that an accrediting agency 

16 grants to an educational institution or program that 

17 meets the agency’s standards and requirements. 

18 ‘‘(3) The term ‘accrediting agency’ means a 

19 legal entity, or part of a legal entity, that conducts 

20 accrediting activities through voluntary, non-Federal 

21 peer review and makes decisions concerning the ac22 creditation or preaccreditation status of institutions, 

23 programs, or both. 

24 ‘‘(4) The term ‘adverse action’ includes action 

25 that suspends, revokes, or withholds licenses, perVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:14 Dec 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00065 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5331.IH H5331

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1 mits, certifications, professional credentials, guaran2 tees, contracts, or cooperative agreements; denies or 

3 revokes scholarships, grants, loans, a tax exemption 

4 or tax-exempt status; denies access to government5 sponsored facilities, activities, or programs; or that 

6 imposes any other penalty or denies an otherwise 

7 available benefit. Except for a violation of subsection 

8 (a)(1) of this section, adverse action does not include 

9 a State’s refusal to subsidize contracts, grants, 

10 loans, or cooperative agreements with exclusively 

11 State revenues because of noncompliance with State 

12 standards that, in purpose and effect, are neutral to13 ward religion and generally applicable. Commingled 

14 State and Federal revenues shall be deemed Federal 

15 revenues. Adverse action does include suspending, 

16 revoking, or withholding scholarships, grants, and 

17 loans, or access to government-sponsored facilities, 

18 activities, or programs to qualified students or grad19 uates of religious educational institutions, notwith20 standing that the scholarships, grants, loans, facili21 ties, activities, or programs are funded with State 

22 revenues. 

23 ‘‘(5) The term ‘government’ means— 


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1 ‘‘(A) a State, county, municipality, or 

2 other government entity created under the au3 thority of a State; 

4 ‘‘(B) any branch, department, agency, in5 strumentality, or official of an entity listed in 

6 subsection (g)(5)(A); 

7 ‘‘(C) any other person acting under color 

8 of State law; and 

9 ‘‘(D) the United States, a branch, depart10 ment, agency, instrumentality, or official of the 

11 United States, and any other person acting 

12 under color of Federal law. 

13 ‘‘(6) The terms ‘religion’ and ‘religious’ include 

14 all aspects of religious belief, observance, and prac15 tice, whether or not compelled by, or central to, a 

16 system of religion. 

17 ‘‘(7) The term ‘religious corporation, associa18 tion, educational institution, or society’ include— 

19 ‘‘(A) a church, synagogue, mosque, temple, 

20 or other house of worship; 

21 ‘‘(B) a nonprofit corporation, association, 

22 educational institution, society, or other non23 profit entity that is, in whole or in substantial 

24 part, owned, supported, controlled, or managed 

25 by a particular religion or by a particular 


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1 church, denomination, convention, or associa2 tion of churches or other houses of worship; or 

3 ‘‘(C) a nonprofit corporation, association, 

4 educational institution, society, or other non5 profit entity that holds itself out to the public 

6 as substantially religious, has as its stated pur7 pose in its organic documents that it is reli8 gious, and is substantially religious in its cur9 rent operations. 

10 ‘‘(8) The term ‘religious educational institution’ 

11 means any organization covered by section 

12 703(e)(2). 

13 ‘‘(9) The term ‘religious mission’ includes reli14 gious affiliation, religious tenets, religious teachings, 

15 and religious standards, including policies or deci16 sions related to such affiliation, tenets, teachings, or 

17 standards with respect to housing, employment, cur18 riculum, self-governance, or student admission, con19 tinuing enrollment, or graduation. 

20 ‘‘(h) CONSTRUCTION.—This section shall supersede 

21 State or local law as provided for expressly herein. Noth22 ing contained in section 1107 shall be construed as indi23 cating an intent on the part of Congress to occupy the 

24 field in which this Act operates to the exclusion of State 

25 or local laws on the same subject matter.’’. 


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1 SEC. 8. PRESERVATION OF TAX-EXEMPT STATUS. 

2 Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (26 

3 U.S.C. 1 et seq.) is amended— 

4 (1) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ before ‘‘Corporations, 

5 and community chest . . .’’; and 

6 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(B)(i) For purposes of Federal law, any deter8 mination whether an organization is organized or op9 erated exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, 

10 literary, or educational purposes or complies with 

11 legal standards of charity shall be made without re12 gard to the organization’s religious beliefs or prac13 tices concerning marriage, family, or sexuality, ex14 cept insofar as such practices pertain to race or 

15 criminal sexual offenses punishable under constitu16 tionally valid Federal or State law. 

17 ‘‘(ii) As used in subsection (B)(i), the term ‘re18 ligious’ includes all aspects of religious belief, ob19 servance, and practice, whether or not compelled by, 

20 or central to, a system of religion.’’. 

21 SEC. 9. SEVERABILITY. 

22 If any provision of this Act, or the application of any 

23 provision to any individual or circumstance, is held to be 

24 invalid, the remainder of this Act and the application of 


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1 its other provisions to any other individuals or cir2 cumstances shall not be affected thereby. 

Æ 


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