In a stinging decision, a federal appeals court has ruled the Vermont Principals’ Association clearly discriminated against the Mid Vermont Christian School in Quechee on religious grounds after it opted to forfeit a girls’ playoff basketball game against a high school team with a transgender athlete.

The VPA, in an unprecedented move, banished the Windsor County school in 2023 from its membership after 28 years as a loyal dues-paying and active member. MVCS maintained it was forced to take a forfeit when the VPA refused to consider the school’s protest over safety concerns. Mid Vermont contended the Long Trail School in Dorset was allowing a biologically born boy to play on the girls’ team, court records said.


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