The Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a court filing this week it can “vigorously” defend an exemption to anti-LGBT discrimination laws for religious schools amid a lawsuit over funding for such institutions. The filing Tuesday noted that the DOJ's "ultimate objective is to defend the statutory exemption and its current application" by the Department of Education (DOE), which is being sued by 40 LGBT students. The students, who attend conservative religious schools, are suing the department for providing funding to colleges and universities that they say have discriminatory policies. ADVERTISEMENT The schools in the lawsuit — Hunter v. Department of Education — argue that they have the First Amendment right to promote their own religious beliefs on sexuality and gender.