Vermont’s governor, Republican Phil Scott, supports trans rights in schools. Last spring, he urged residents to make the state “a more inclusive and welcoming place” and to approach conversations about transgender issues “from a place of empathy and understanding.”
Christian School Defends Right to Act on Its Beliefs
In 2022, Vermont enacted anti-discrimination laws, saying schools must follow them in order to receive state tuition funding. When Fogg from MVCS wrote to seek funding, she said if the state’s rules “conflict with any of the school’s beliefs, including on marriage and sexuality,” then her school could not “affirm that particular aspect of” the law.
Fogg’s letter from last January states: “As a religious organization, the school has a statutory and constitutional right to make decisions based on its religious beliefs, including hiring and disciplining employees, associating with others, and in its admissions, conduct and operations policies and procedures.”
On Facebook, under a recent photo of an MVCS basketball team, someone comments: “They’re the real Champs! I support trans rights, but not in sports. The biological differences cannot be ignored. It would be unfair and unsafe. It’s the same as cheating.” Someone else concurs, but another person writes: “You’re a deplorable bigot!”
The debate about transgender athletes continues to heat up. More states are restricting participation to the team that matches a person’s biological sex, not their gender identity.
