A policy banning discrimination based on sexual orientation remains in effect for now at Virginia Tech, despite a directive from the state attorney general that public colleges and universities rescind such protections.

Tech officials received a letter Thursday evening or Friday morning from Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli by e-mail, university spokesman Mark Owczarski said.

The letter, dated March 4, argues that colleges and universities have no authority to protect the rights of gays, lesbians and other sexual minorities without an act of the General Assembly.

The legislature "has on numerous occasions considered and rejected creating a protected class defined by 'sexual orientation,' 'gender identity' or 'gender expression,' " stated the letter, circulated widely Friday.

Tech President Charles Steger "will certainly confer with board [of visitors] members and members of the community about it. Obviously, when something comes from Richmond, we have to pay attention," Owczarski said.

But any change to Tech's nondiscrimination policy must be approved by the board, which is scheduled to meet March 21 and 22. An agenda for that meeting has not been set.

"As of today, our nondiscrimination policy stands as it is," Owczarski said.

Radford University also includes sexual orientation as a protected class in its nondiscrimination policy.

"We are seeking advice on how to proceed," Radford spokesman Jeff Douglas said.

Cuccinelli's letter is nonbinding and amounts to legal advice to university officials, which they may ignore.

Chris Freund, spokesman for the Richmond-based Family Foundation, applauded Cuccinelli's stand, saying the attorney general is simply asking colleges and universities to abide by state law.

That seems like a legitimate thing for the attorney general to do, Freund said.

But the letter caused a cascade of criticism from state Democrats. In a hastily organized conference call, party leaders criticized Cuccinelli and Gov. Bob McDonnell for stripping away explicit protections for gay and lesbian state workers and warned that such actions might hinder economic development in the commonwealth.

"This is the ultimate act of big government," Virginia Democratic Party Chairman Dick Cranwell said. "I'm always amazed at these apostles of less government. As soon as they get elected, they want to micromanage the state government."

Cranwell questioned why Republicans are focusing on a wedge issue, rather than the rising cost of tuition and other barriers Virginia families face in sending their children to college.

"I don't believe that's in our best interest in attracting ... jobs," said Del. Ken Plum, D-Fairfax County, chairman of the Virginia House Democratic Caucus.

Corporations with liberal employment policies, such as Northrop Grumman, that state officials hope will locate or expand in Virginia might be spooked by Cuccinelli's letter and similar signals from state Republicans, Plum said.

McDonnell has made job creation the central mission of his administration.

U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, a former Virginia governor, issued a statement Friday that read in part: "I am puzzled why the Attorney General would authorize our public colleges and universities to discriminate. ... I believe the Attorney General's advice will hurt the ability of our colleges and universities to attract the very best faculty, staff and students, and damage the Commonwealth's reputation for academic excellence and diversity."

Warner issued an executive order protecting gay and lesbian state workers during his administration. A similar order was executed by Gov. Tim Kaine.

Despite pledging to gay rights advocates during his campaign to support employment protections for sexual minorities, McDonnell recently reversed Kaine's order.

During his tenure as attorney general, McDonnell opposed Kaine's order on constitutional grounds, as have a string of Republican attorneys general dating back to Jerry Kilgore.

But in a Sept. 15 letter to Equality Virginia, a Richmond-based pro-gay rights advocacy group, then gubernatorial candidate McDonnell wrote: "It is my firm belief that government should not discriminate based on race, sex, creed, religion, national origin, or sexual orientation."

Equality Virginia CEO Jon Blair criticized McDonnell Friday for his silence on a bill approved by the state Senate, but killed by a House committee this week that would have banned employment discrimination based on sexual orientation.

"Honestly, I think it's time for the governor to come out of hiding and put the attorney general back on the chain," Blair said. McDonnell has "said that he opposes discrimination, but every time he's given an opportunity to prove it, he's nowhere to be found."

In a written statement Friday, McDonnell press secretary Stacey Johnson said "the Governor expects that no Virginia college or university, or any other state agency, will engage in discrimination of any kind.

"The Governor will not tolerate discrimination in the Administration and his official written employment policy for the Office of the Governor expressly forbids discrimination on any basis other than qualification and merit," Johnson wrote.

It's unclear what effects a rollback of nondiscrimination policies might have for college and university employees.

The LGBT Caucus at Virginia Tech criticized Cuccinelli's directive in a statement Friday as "a backwards step in our journey towards inclusive excellence."

The statement called on Tech officials "to support and defend the Principles of Community as a guiding standard in the university."