{"id":17679,"date":"2023-05-19T13:41:54","date_gmt":"2023-05-19T17:41:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/?p=17679"},"modified":"2023-05-19T13:41:54","modified_gmt":"2023-05-19T17:41:54","slug":"school-board-settles-religious-discrimination-case-and-resumes-contract-with-arizona-christian-university","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2023\/05\/school-board-settles-religious-discrimination-case-and-resumes-contract-with-arizona-christian-university","title":{"rendered":"School Board Settles Religious Discrimination Case and Resumes Contract with Arizona Christian University"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Arizona Christian University (ACU) released a <\/span>statement<\/span><\/a>\u00a0earlier this month announcing that the school board for Phoenix-area Washington Elementary School District (WESD) had reinstated the university\u2019s contract that allowed ACU\u2019s student teachers to teach in the district. \u201cThe new student placement agreement allows for an additional five years, to be renewed annually, instead of being the final year of the previous 5-year agreement,\u201d the statement revealed. The reinstatement of the contract comes after ACU filed a religious discrimination suit against WESD. As previously\u00a0<\/span>reported<\/span><\/a>\u00a0by Beliefnet, the university\u2019s contract had been terminated in February after several board members stated their concerns that the university\u2019s stance on issues like gay marriage could cause harm to other students. One board member in particular, Tamillia Valenzuela, who identifies as a \u201cbilingual, disabled, neurodivergent queer black Latina,\u201d stated that the school\u2019s values were concerning for the LGBTQ+ community in the school. \u201cAt some point, we need to get real with ourselves and take a look at who we\u2019re making legal contracts with and the message that is sending to our community. Because that makes me feel like I could not be safe in this school district,\u201d she\u2019d said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With the contract reinstated and the district agreeing to pay ACU\u2019s legal fees, the university has withdrawn its religious discrimination suit. ACU President Len Munsil called the outcome a \u201ccomplete vindication.\u201d \u201cThis is a complete vindication of the rights of our students to be able to participate as student-teachers in a public school district without fear of religious discrimination. We obtained everything we wanted in this new agreement without any sacrifice or compromise of our beliefs and our university\u2019s religious purpose. We look forward to a continued beneficial partnership that serves ACU student-teachers and the students, faculty, and staff of the WESD,\u201d he said in a statement. Munsil went on to add, \u201cWe have used the tagline \u2018Courageously Christian\u2019 at ACU to remind us that it will require courage to stand for Christ and biblical truth in a culture that is increasingly hostile. I pray we are all encouraged by this outcome, even as we recognize that our duty is only to be faithful, regardless of the outcome, because \u2018victory belongs to the Lord.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which represented ACU, released a <\/span>statement<\/span><\/a>\u00a0as well. \u201cADF attorneys representing ACU filed the federal lawsuit in March after the school district\u2014the largest elementary school district in Arizona, serving Phoenix and Glendale\u2014decided it no longer wanted to partner with ACU because of the university\u2019s religious beliefs on marriage and sexuality, terminating the relationship without citing any complaint or issue regarding an ACU student or alumnus. The lawsuit explained that the district\u2019s decision to end its relationship with the school because of its religious status and beliefs violated the university\u2019s constitutionally protected freedoms,\u201d the statement said. ADF Senior Counsel and Vice President of U.S. Litigation David Cortman applauded the reinstatement of the contract, saying, \u201cAt a time when a critical shortage of qualified, caring teachers exists, the Washington Elementary School District board did the right thing by prioritizing the needs of elementary school children and agreeing to partner once again with ACU\u2019s student-teachers.\u201d ADF stated it will continue to monitor the school district to ensure there is no further discrimination in the future.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Arizona Christian University (ACU) released a statement\u00a0earlier this month announcing that the school board for Phoenix-area Washington Elementary School District (WESD) had reinstated the university\u2019s contract that allowed ACU\u2019s student teachers to teach in the district. \u201cThe new student placement agreement allows for an additional five years, to be renewed annually, instead of being the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":664,"featured_media":17040,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17679","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nSchool Board Settles Religious Discrimination Case and Resumes Contract with Arizona Christian University<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Arizona Christian University released a statement saying the school board had resumed their contract to allow their students to teach in the district.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2023\/05\/school-board-settles-religious-discrimination-case-and-resumes-contract-with-arizona-christian-university\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"School Board Settles Religious Discrimination Case and Resumes Contract with Arizona Christian University\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Arizona Christian University released a statement saying the school board had resumed their contract to allow their students to teach in the district.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" 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