BURLINGTON, Vt. – The Vermont Principals Association has agreed to pay $566,000 in damages and attorneys’ fees to partially settle a lawsuit brought by Mid Vermont Christian School.
Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys representing the school and one of its families filed suit against state officials in 2023 after they expelled the school and its students from participating in all state-sponsored sports because the school followed its religious beliefs by forfeiting a girls’ basketball game against a male player.
“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,” said ADF Senior Counsel David Cortman, vice president of U.S. litigation. “For more than two years, state officials denied Mid Vermont Christian School a public benefit available to all other schools in Vermont just because it stood by the widely held, biblical belief that boys and girls are different. There’s a price to pay for violating constitutional rights for Christian schools and students.”
“I never thought I would be in court for simply adhering to my Christian and commonsense belief that boys and girls are different,” said Chris Goodwin, coach of the girls’ basketball team. “At Mid Vermont Christian School, we strive to exemplify biblical truth in and through everything we do. We’re grateful for our legal team at Alliance Defending Freedom who helped us get back in the game. As a coach, I always want my team to play in fair and safe competitions. As a dad, I want my daughter to know that she should always stand up for her beliefs and should never be punished for that decision.”
The VPA’s agreement to pay $566,000 comes after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit ruled in September that Vermont must allow the Christian school back into the state’s athletic association. In 2023, the VPA kicked Mid Vermont out of its athletic association because the school forfeited one girls’ basketball game against a girls’ team with a male athlete because playing the game would have violated the school’s religious convictions.
ADF attorneys are continuing to litigate the case, Mid Vermont Christian School v. Saunders. Vermont officials have yet again excluded all religious schools, including Mid Vermont, and their students from participating in the state’s tuition program and other public benefit programs.
Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life.
# # #
