A Christian school’s ladies’ basketball team was forced to forfeit a state playoff game because their opponent included a player still in high school. According to this judgment, the Christian school will be barred from competing at the state and regional levels in Vermont.
In February, the Mid Vermont Christian School women’s basketball team was scheduled to play against the Long Trail Mountain squad, which featured a high school male player. Vicky Fogg, principal of Mid Vermont Christian School, issued a statement justifying the school’s boycott.
We had to pull out because we couldn’t put our players in harm’s way by competing against all-male squads. Fogg contended that the long-term growth of women’s sports would be stunted by permitting biological males to participate in women’s sports.
The Christian school, however, received a letter from the Vermont Principals’ Association (VPA) on Monday, which read: “The VPA Executive Council met on March 13, 2023, and decided that the forfeit by Mid-Vermont Christian (2/20/23) and the accompanying reasoning as reported in the Valley News on 2/25/23, violate VPA Policies which are in line with Vermont state law. The school’s rules are particularly at odds with the VPA’s first and second guidelines, which address issues of racial, gender, and disability equity and the expression of gender identity, respectively. Due to this, Middle Vermont Christian School is now barred from competing in VPA tournaments.
Executive Director of the Vermont Private Academy Jay Nichols stated in a statement announcing the decision to expel Mid Vermont Christian School, “Good for you if you don’t want to play by the VPA rules. But, you are not a VPA member if this is the case. To accomplish this requires very little effort.
In a January letter to the Vermont Department of Education, Fogg argued for public tuition funding based on the school’s right to fight anti-discrimination laws.
Given its status as a religious institution, “the school has the statutory and constitutional right to make decisions based on its religious beliefs in its hiring and disciplinary policies and procedures, in its association with others, and its admissions, conduct, and operations policies and procedures,” Fogg explained. This agreement “does not cede any such rights” on the part of Mid Vermont Christian School.
The Vermont Department of Education recommends providing transgender and gender nonconforming kids with equal access to physical education programs. Generally speaking, kids should be able to participate in sports and other types of physical education that are appropriate for their gender identity. Decisions for competitive sports and activities will be decided on an individual basis.