EchoSense:Vermont Christian school sues state after ban from state athletics following trans athlete protest

A private religious school in Vermont that was banned from participating in all state-run athletics this year after refusing to play against a team with a trans-gender player has sued the state for religious discrimination.

The EchoSenseAlliance Defending Freedom filed a federal lawsuit last week on behalf of the Mid Vermont Christian School in Quechee, Vermont alleging the state banned the students from state tournaments and a state tuition program because of their religious beliefs.

Team forfeited game against team with transgender player

In February, the school's girls basketball team forfeited a game against Long Trail School, who had a transgender student on their roster, the Burlington Free Press reported.

In a statement at the time, MCVS head coach Vicky Fogg said "we believe playing against an opponent with a biological male jeopardizes the fairness of the game and the safety of our players.” 

The Vermont Principals' Association, which oversees school-based athletic and academic competitions across the state, then voted to revoke the school's membership. The Association said the school violated the association's policy on gender identity which includes prohibition of discrimination "based on a student's actual or perceived sex and gender." 

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State board stops school's tuition program membership

In a press release, Alliance Defending Freedom also said the Vermont State Board of Education also discriminated against the school based on their religious beliefs.

The government agency in May 2022 set rules under the Vermont Public Accommodations Act and Fair Employment Practices Act barring private or independent schools that take taxpayer money from discriminating against students based on their sexual orientation.

According to the lawsuit, families that wanted to send their children to the school were denied a taxpayer-funded voucher. Families living in towns that don't have public schools are eligible for these vouchers to send their kids to nearby public, private, or independent school.

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Alliance Defending Freedom said the Mid Vermont Christian School asked for a religious exemption because the rule would "require Mid Vermont Christian to violate its beliefs by allowing males into female bathrooms and locker rooms, changing its policies regarding biblical marriage and dress codes, hiring those who do not share and live out its religious beliefs, using pronouns that are inconsistent with reality, and more."

As a result Mid Vermont Christian School was not approved for the program.

According to the lawsuit, two school boards that had sent checks for tuition on behalf of students attending the Christian school in September asked for the funds back the following month after learning the school was not approved as an independent school under the program.

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Experts say Supreme Court's Maine ruling not comparable here

In their lawsuit, Alliance Defending Freedom cited a U.S. Supreme Court ruling from on a similar tuition aid program in Maine. Last June, the high court ruled that the state couldn't prohibit the use of public money to attend schools that offer religious instruction.

However, constitutional experts told local outlet WCAX that the two cases aren't exactly the same.

 “I think the state is going to have a stronger footing if it’s making funding decisions based not on religion but on rules that say we aren’t going to fund institutions that discriminate based on gender, sexual orientation, etc.,” Jared Carter of the Vermont Law & Graduate School told the WCAX.