{"id":24153,"date":"2025-09-24T11:54:29","date_gmt":"2025-09-24T11:54:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/?p=840359"},"modified":"2025-09-24T11:54:29","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T11:54:29","slug":"court-reinstates-vermont-christian-school-to-sports-league-after-transgender-dispute","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/2025\/09\/24\/court-reinstates-vermont-christian-school-to-sports-league-after-transgender-dispute\/","title":{"rendered":"Court Reinstates Vermont Christian School to Sports League After Transgender Dispute"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/img\/social\/opengraph\/ij-social-default-1200x630.png\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\"><\/div>\n<ul class=\"nav nav-tabs tabs tabs-entry\">\n<li class=\"active\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/news\/east\/2025\/09\/24\/840359.htm\">Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/news\/east\/2025\/09\/24\/840359.htm?comments\" rel=\"nofollow\">0 Comments<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"article-content clearfix\">\n<p>A federal appeals court says a Vermont Christian school can participate in the state\u2019s sports league, overturning a previous ruling that upheld a ban on the school after it forfeited a high school girls basketball game against a team with a transgender athlete.<\/p>\n<p>In a Sept. 9 ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit granted Mid Vermont Christian School a preliminary injunction to rejoin the Vermont Principals\u2019 Association \u2014 also known as the state\u2019s executive council that governs school sports \u2014 as the legal battle continues in court.<\/p>\n<div class=\"bzn bzn-sized bzn-intext\">\n<ins data-revive-zoneid=\"79\" data-revive-topics=\"k-12\" data-revive-companies data-revive-block=\"1\" data-revive-id=\"36eb7c2bd3daa932a43cc2a8ffbed3a9\"><\/ins> <\/div>\n<p>\u201cWe conclude that plaintiffs are likely to succeed in showing that the VPA\u2019s expulsion of Mid Vermont was not neutral because it displayed hostility toward the school\u2019s religious beliefs,\u201d the appeals court wrote in their decision.<\/p>\n<p>In 2023, the Quechee-based private school forfeited a game because officials believed the opposing teams\u2019 transgender player jeopardized \u201cthe fairness of the game and the safety of our players.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In response, the VPA ruled that the school had violated the council\u2019s policies on race, gender and disability awareness, and therefore was ineligible to participate in all state-sponsored games and other events including debate tournaments and science fairs.<\/p>\n<p>Alliance Defending Freedom, which represents Mid Vermont Christian, some students and parents then filed a lawsuit accusing the state of violating the school\u2019s First Amendment rights. It said Mid Vermont Christian, which has competed in the state sports association for nearly 30 years, forfeited the single game \u201cto avoid violating its religious beliefs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe government cannot punish religious schools \u2014 and the families they serve \u2014 by permanently kicking them out of state-sponsored sports simply because the state disagrees with their religious beliefs,\u201d David Cortman, an attorney with Alliance Defending Freedom who is representing the Vermont school, said in an email Monday.<\/p>\n<p>Emails seeking comment were sent to Mid Vermont and the Vermont Principals Association. The Vermont Secretary of Education\u2019s office, which is also named in the lawsuit, declined to comment due to the ongoing litigation.<\/p>\n<div class=\"bzn bzn-sized bzn-intext-2\">\n<ins data-revive-zoneid=\"162\" data-revive-topics=\"k-12\" data-revive-companies data-revive-block=\"1\" data-revive-id=\"36eb7c2bd3daa932a43cc2a8ffbed3a9\"><\/ins> <\/div>\n<p>A lower district court in 2024 ruled in the state\u2019s favor, arguing that the executive council applies the athletic policy uniformly and doesn\u2019t target religious organizations for enforcement or discrimination.<\/p>\n<p>However, the appeals court disagreed. The appellate court argued that the state was \u201chostile to Mid Vermont\u2019s religious views\u201d and declared the outright ban on participating in sports and non-athletic activities \u201cunprecedented, overbroad, and procedurally irregular.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Specifically, the court took issue with the VPA\u2019s executive director, Jay Nichols, who testified before a Vermont legislative committee in favor of legislation to ban public funding to religious schools just days after Mid Vermont forfeited the game in 2023.<\/p>\n<p>Nichols told lawmakers \u201cthank goodness the student in question didn\u2019t attend that religious school\u201d and said Vermont shouldn\u2019t condone such discrimination.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPut simply, the VPA may not impose discipline based on its view that Mid Vermont\u2019s religious objection was \u2018wrong,&#8217;\u201d the court ruled.<\/p>\n<p>The ongoing case is the latest development in the ongoing debate over transgender athletes participating in public school sports. The Trump administration has pressed states to block transgender youth from participating in girls sports.<\/p>\n<p>Currently, at least 26 states have laws on the books barring transgender women and girls from competing in certain women\u2019s or girls sports competitions. The U.S. Supreme Court is set to consider the constitutionality of the bans in its coming term.<\/p>\n<div class=\"copyright-notice lite\">Copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.<\/div>\n<p class=\"tagtag\"> <span class=\"tagtag\">Topics<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/k-12\/\" class=\"btn btn-sm btn-primary tagtag\">K-12<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-poll\" data-post=\"840359\">\n<div class=\"article-poll-vote\">\n<p>Was this article valuable?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-poll-feedback voted-no\">\n<form class=\"feedback-form\">\n<p>Thank you! 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