Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys representing Mid Vermont Christian School and two families filed a federal lawsuit against Vermont officials over the action.
Vermont, through its Agency of Education and Vermont Principals’ Association, requires private, religious schools to adopt the state’s view on human sexuality and gender—namely, that sex is mutable and biological differences do not matter—as a condition to participate in the state’s tuition program and athletic association.
Doing so violates the First Amendment rights of Mid Vermont Christian, its students and families, and other faith-based schools by preventing them from practicing their religious beliefs about sexuality and gender.
ADF Senior Counsel Ryan Tucker, director of the ADF Center for Christian Ministries said, “Vermont has an infamous record of discriminating against religious schools and families, whether it be withholding generally available public funding or denying them membership in the state’s sports league because they hold religious beliefs that differ from the state’s preferred views. The state’s unlawful exclusion of Mid Vermont Christian from participating in the tuition program and athletic association is the latest example of state officials trampling on constitutionally protected rights.“
The U.S. Supreme Court has previously ruled that the government cannot exclude families from public benefits just because they choose religious education for their children.