A Christian school in Vermont recently won a major legal victory — and the price tag for violating its constitutional rights was steep.
The Mid Vermont Christian School (MVCS) believes that human beings are created either male or female. In 2023, the MVCS girls’ basketball team decided to forfeit a game rather than violate its religious convictions by forcing its girls to play against a team with a male player. But the Vermont Principals Association decided to punish the school for forfeiting the game by kicking it out of the sports league. That led to a major court battle — and a victory for MVCS.
Now the Vermont Principals Association has agreed to pay a $566,000 settlement for damages and attorneys’ fees to Mid Vermont Christian School.
Our friends at Alliance Defending Freedom represented the school in court. ADF Senior Counsel David Cortman put it plainly: “The government cannot punish religious schools — and the families they serve — by permanently kicking them out of state-sponsored sports simply because the state disagrees with their religious beliefs.”
Stories like this one are part of the reason Arkansas passed Act 461 by Sen. Missy Irvin (R — Mountain View) and Rep. Sonia Barker (R — Smackover) in 2021 to protects fairness in women’s sports in Arkansas.
Letting men compete in women’s sports is unfair and reverses 50 years of advancements for women. Female cyclists, swimmers, powerlifters, sprinters, volleyball players, and others have seen their sports radically changed by men who claim to be women. In some cases it can even be dangerous.
Right now the U.S. Supreme Court is considering a federal case that could affect state laws like Arkansas’ Act 461. Family Council joined dozens of state policy organizations and more than 200 state legislators in a legal brief in that case last September.
Most Americans agree that athletes should compete according to their biological sex — not their gender identity. This settlement between Mid Vermont Christian School and the Vermont Principals Association is a victory for religious freedom, fairness in girls’ sports, and common sense.
Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.
