On Nov. 4, Moody Bible Institute filed a federal lawsuit against the Chicago Board of Education, alleging that the board refuses to accommodate its religious rights. Moody, a private Christian college in Chicago, says its elementary education students aren’t allowed to serve as student teachers in Chicago Public School (CPS) because Moody hires only professing Christians.
Although the Illinois State Board of Education approved Moody’s elementary education program in January 2024, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) says it can’t partner with institutions that “discriminate” regarding “privileges of employment, because of…religion…gender identity/expression, [or] sexual orientation.”
In Moody’s Employment Information Guide, a statement on human sexuality notes that God created humans as male and female—and that God designed marriage to be between one man and one woman. “Specific activities such as premarital sex, adultery, or homosexual sex are inconsistent with God’s holy purposes for sexual expression,” the statement adds.
According to the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, CPS said it “maintains a strict district-wide non-discrimination policy” and cannot “accommodate language that permits discrimination.”
Moody Bible Institute Claims Discrimination by Chicago School System
In order for Moody Bible Institute’s undergraduate and graduate students to teach in Chicago’s public schools, the Christian college must sign two agreements that prohibit it from hiring employees who “discriminate” based on gender identity or sexual orientation.
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Before filing a lawsuit, Moody asked CPS to modify the agreements so it could continue hiring Christian employees, preserving its constitutional rights. CPS refused that request, even though it permits other local Christian colleges to take part in student teaching.
The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which is representing Moody, said the Chicago Board of Education is demanding that Moody give up its First Amendment protections. “The case law is very clear that religious organizations have the right to participate” in school-related governmental programs, said ADF attorney Ryan Tucker.
On Nov. 4, Moody Bible Institute filed a federal lawsuit against the Chicago Board of Education, alleging that the board refuses to accommodate its religious rights.Click to PostKristen Waggoner, ADF president and CEO, said, “Government can’t deny otherwise available benefits to religious people or institutions simply because of their faith.” If Moody gave up its “long-standing practice of hiring Christians who live by biblical standards [and] were to hire non-believers,” she added, Moody “would quickly cease to be a Christian college.”
