Trinity Western University will no longer demand all students sign a controversial community covenant, which requires them to abstain from sex outside of heterosexual marriage.

The decision came in a board meeting last week, after years of legal battles over whether that portion of the covenant is discriminatory.

The university lost at the Supreme Court of Canada in June. No longer forcing students to abide by that portion of the covenant could pave the way for the university to offer a law school.

An e-mail to students from Bob Kuhn, Trinity Western University President, said the Board of Governors met last Thursday.

“In a decision that I believe will successfully position us to better fulfill the TWU Mission, the Board of Governors has passed the following motion:

“In furtherance of our desire to maintain TWU as a thriving community of Christian believers that is inclusive of all students wishing to learn from a Christian viewpoint and underlying philosophy, the Community Covenant will no longer be mandatory as of the 2018-19 Academic year with respect to admission of students to, or continuation of students at, the University.”

In 2012, the Fraser Valley school planned to open a law school. But B.C. and Ontario’s law societies said they would reject graduates. In 2014, B.C.’s Advanced Education Ministry revoked its approval in 2014 pending the outcome of a legal battle.

The community covenant required students to abstain from “sexual intimacy that violates the sacredness of marriage between a man and a woman.”

Critics said that covenant discriminated against people of different sexual orientation. The school said its religious freedom was being infringed. This year, in a 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court sided with the law societies.

After the decision, Earl Phillips, the executive director of TWU law, told CTV News that finding the way forward would require a lot of soul searching.

“This is something we need to spend a lot of time on and reflecting as a community. We need to analyze the decision, reflect on that, and reflect carefully on everything that has happened in this process,” he said at the time.

On Tuesday, a former student who came out as gay in his second year, and is now leading a group of LGBTQ people and their allies called “One TWU”, said the move was a good first step.

“Absolutely it’s great that LGBTQ students don’t have to worry about being kicked out, or having their integrity challenged,” Matthew Wigmore said.

“But by no means is this the end of a lot of things that need to happen in order for there to be better accommodation on campus,” he said.

Other examples include having gender free washrooms, and making sure that the decision to not to sign the covenant doesn’t open a student up to pressure from other students or the campus community.

Even though students won’t have to sign the community covenant any more, staff and faculty will. Critics say the test of whether the university is discriminatory is whether its culture changes as well.

“Is it going to be an environment where difference is tolerated, or is it one where the law school values and respects and celebrates difference?” asked UBC Allard School of Law professor Margot Young. “That’s what a fully inclusive society requires.”

No decision has been made about whether the school will apply for a law school again, Kuhn said in an interview.

“No decision has been made about an application for that or when,” he said.

The school does welcome people from all backgrounds, he said.

“Our mission remains the same,” Kuhn continued in the letter. “We will remain a biblically-based, mission-focused, academically excellent University that remains fully committed to its foundational evangelical Christian principles.”