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In 2023, Mid Vermont Christian School was dealt an unprecedented blow.
After the girls’ basketball team chose to forfeit a playoff game rather than compete against a male athlete, due to its religious convictions, the state’s officials punished not just the team but every student in the school from participating in any state-sponsored sport.
It was an act of hostility that sent a chilling message to Christian schools: abandon your religious convictions or be excluded.
Two years later, that message was overturned.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit ruled that Vermont’s state-sponsored athletics association acted with hostility toward Mid Vermont’s religious beliefs. The punishment, the court said, was “unprecedented, overbroad, and procedurally irregular.”
The court’s decision restores Mid Vermont Christian’s right to participate in athletics while the case proceeds. And importantly, it reaffirms that Christian schools cannot be pushed out of public life simply for adhering to biblical truth.
As ADF Senior Counsel David Cortman, who argued before the court, said:
“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. For over two years, state officials have 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.”
This ruling sends a strong message nationwide: government officials cannot target and express hostility to Christian schools and ministries because they don’t agree with their religious beliefs and views. When punishments this severe are handed down, they don’t just affect one institution — they are meant to intimidate and silence an entire community of believers.
At the same time, this decision offers encouragement. It shows that when Christian schools remain faithful and refuse to compromise their biblical convictions, courts can and do recognize the constitutional protections that apply. Wins like this remind ministries that standing firm is not in vain.
And finally, this win also demonstrates why clarity and preparation matter. When your convictions are clearly expressed and your mission is firmly anchored, your ministry is far better equipped to stand strong when the government demands compromise.
Mid Vermont Christian didn’t face this battle alone.
As part of a broad alliance of churches, schools, and ministries across the country, it had ADF attorneys ready to defend its right to follow its biblical convictions. And because of the support of this alliance, ADF had the opportunity to argue this case at the federal appellate level — and win.
That’s why the ADF Church & Ministry Alliance exists: to build a network of ministries committed to standing together, defending one another, and ensuring that no church, school, or ministry faces these challenges in isolation.
By being part of the Alliance, you not only prepare your own ministry with legal resources and guidance, but you also help make victories like Mid Vermont’s possible.
Discover what membership means for your ministry.
In 2023, Mid Vermont Christian School was dealt an unprecedented blow. But two years later, things turned around.
