Chicago Public Schools to Allow Bible College Students Into Teaching Program, Following Lawsuit
“Moody Bible Institute, a private Christian college in Chicago, sued the Chicago Board of Education in November, alleging CPS had unlawfully blocked its students from participating”
It’s amazing that it took a lawsuit to make this happen.
FOX News reports:
Chicago Public Schools will now allow Bible college students into its teaching program, after lawsuit
Chicago Public Schools (CPS) will no longer bar students from a Bible college from participating in its student-teaching program after reaching a settlement Thursday in the college’s religious discrimination case.
Moody Bible Institute, a private Christian college in Chicago, sued the Chicago Board of Education in November, alleging CPS had unlawfully blocked its students from participating in the district’s student-teaching program because of the school’s religious hiring practices.
The lawsuit claims CPS excluded Moody students from its student teacher internship program after the college refused to abandon its policy of hiring employees who affirm the school’s statement of faith and agree to live according to its Christian beliefs, including on gender and sexuality.
“As a condition of participation, Chicago Public Schools insists that Moody sign agreements with employment nondiscrimination provisions that forbid Moody from employing only those who share and live out its faith,” the complaint stated. “Such a requirement is unlawful.”
Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) said Thursday that the settlement resolves the dispute.
According to the Christian legal group, CPS agreed to modify its Student Teacher Internship Agreement to recognize Moody’s right to maintain its faith-based hiring practices, allowing the college to sign the agreement and participate in the student-teaching program. ADF also said CPS now lists Moody as an approved university partner on its website.
“Chicago desperately needs more teachers to fill hundreds of vacancies, and Moody’s students will be well-equipped and qualified to help meet that need,” ADF Senior Counsel Jeremiah Galus said in a press release.
“Moody holds its faculty and students to high standards of excellence, and we’re pleased to reach this favorable outcome that will allow it to participate in Chicago Public Schools’ student-teaching program,” he continued. “We’re hopeful other public officials will take note that they can’t inject themselves illegally and unconstitutionally into a religious non-profit’s hiring practices.”
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Comments
I suspect that the reason the school district didn’t want Bible School teachers was the fear that they would be proselytizing their students. I would agree with the school district that a teacher should not proselytize on the job. Which reminds me of a high school student I encountered when I was a substitute teacher.
He was a bright kid at a magnet high school, who went on to get a math degree. He told me that he wanted to become a teacher and use his position to push his lefty political agenda on his students. Lo and behold, two decades later, after years as an English teacher overseas, he became a high school teacher. I wonder if he spends any time in class pushing his political agenda.
The irony about a school district not wanting Bible School students to proselytize their students is that, for the most part, a school district probably has no problems with teachers pushing political agendas on their students—as long as the agendas conform to the “social justice” narratives de jour.