The Vermont Principals’ Association must reinstate a Christian school after its girls’ basketball team forfeited a game against a team with a male on its roster, an appeals court has ruled, stating that officials acted with “hostility” toward religious beliefs.
A three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals released a unanimous opinion on Tuesday in the case of Mid Vermont Christian School et al v. Zoie Saunders et al.
Circuit Judge Michael Park, a Trump appointee, authored the opinion, which reversed a lower court decision against the Mid Vermont Christian School in Quechee and remanded the case back to the district court level with instructions for the court to grant a “preliminary injunction insofar as it seeks Mid Vermont’s reinstatement in the VPA.”
The VPA banned the school from participating in future sporting events after the girls’ basketball team refused to play Long Trail Mountain Lions in February 2023. At issue was the Lions’ inclusion of a male athlete who identified as female, which prompted Mid Vermont to forfeit the basketball game.
Park wrote that the VPA, which regulates extracurricular activities for middle schools and high schools in the state, “was hostile to Mid Vermont’s religious views.”
“The VPA likely violated Mid Vermont’s First Amendment right to free exercise of religion because its consideration of Mid Vermont’s case was not neutral,” Park said.
“Based on the undisputed record, we conclude that Plaintiffs are likely to succeed in establishing that the VPA’s decision was indeed accompanied by official expressions of hostility to religion.”
Park concluded that the VPA “ignored the detailed procedural requirements governing its disciplinary process,” which included “a formal investigation, a preliminary report, written notice of a probable violation, a recommended penalty, and an opportunity to be heard at a hearing involving counsel and evidence.”
“But in its rush to impose an ‘immediate’ expulsion, the VPA flouted its own rules,” he continued. “In upholding the expulsion, the VPA doubled down on that hostility by challenging the legitimacy of the school’s religious beliefs.”
The Alliance Defending Freedom, a religious freedom legal nonprofit representing Mid Vermont Christian and one of the families involved in the litigation, celebrated the appeals court panel decision.
“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, who argued before the court, in a statement.
“The 2nd Circuit was right to uphold constitutional protections by guaranteeing the school can fully participate while still adhering to its religious beliefs.”
Monica Allard, a staff attorney at the Vermont chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, expressed disappointment with the decision in a statement given to Vermont Public.
“While this ruling is disappointing, it’s important to underscore that the court did not rule against Vermont’s policy of including trans kids in school sports,” Allard stated.
“This decision does not impact the rights of trans kids to participate fully in school activities — or the responsibilities of schools to ensure that all students have equitable access to educational and extracurricular opportunities.”
When the VPA announced the expulsion in March 2023, the association reasoned that the school violated its policies against discrimination based on gender identity. A policy document states that member schools must support “an environment in our activities and programs that promotes respect for and appreciation of racial, gender, sexual orientation, religious and ethnic differences, and is disability aware.”
The VPA prohibits discrimination “based on a student’s actual or perceived sex and gender,” with gender including “a person’s actual or perceived sex as well as gender identity and expression.”
Mid Vermont filed its lawsuit against VPA, the Vermont Agency of Education and the Vermont State Board of Education in November 2023 over the expulsion and denial of access to a state tuition program.
U.S. District Judge Geoffrey W. Crawford for the District of Vermont, an Obama appointee, ruled against the Christian school in June 2024, concluding that “the state has a legitimate interest in extending the protection of inclusion to transgender students.”
