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California colleges required to give training on gender identity and sexuality

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – In compliance with a recent state law, Christian colleges in California are now giving employer training on gender identity and sexuality that may not reflect the Biblical perspective on these issues, Just the News reports.

Signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2018, Senate Bill 1343 requires employers with five or more employees to give “sexual harassment training” by Jan 1, 2020, and every two years after that. There is no exception for religious organizations. The training must include “harassment based on gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation.” It does not provide any religious accommodations.

The Department of Fair Employment and Housing provides online interactive courses that may be used, but employers can also use third-party training sources, or develop their own course.

A student employee from Pepperdine college described to Just the News that the school’s required course included a video of a transgender man and non-binary people explaining that gender and sexuality are “completely different categories.” The video presenter goes on to say: “Bottom line, you understand your identity better than anyone else.” Another participant adds: “No matter how you identify, you deserve to be believed and respected.”

Noting that the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities had objected to a proposed contraceptive mandate in 2013, Just the New reports that the CCCU remained silent about the gender and sexuality training requirement for the California schools it represents. The CCCU told Just the News it had not been directly involved” with reviewing the law’s language and had not lobbied for opt-outs on religious grounds.