TN: Taxpayer-Funded Discrimination

Morgan Armstrong decided in April to come out as gay. The school where she was a senior-- Tennessee Christian Preparatory School in Cleveland, Tennessee-- called her into the office and laid out punishments and threats.

Armstrong came out in an Instagram post on April 23. She sent some private messages to friends asking for support; she says she was expecting some relatives to take the news poorly. She wrote “go like and comment on my post guys bc if no one on my socials knew I was gay then they sure as hell do now so this is a big thing tbh, also I’m kinda scared about the facebook comments bc i have some ruthless [tr*ump] supporting “jesus” mfs on there."

The school took the position that the private message violated the school's social media policy, which says students must not say anything that reflects poorly on Tennessee Christian. She was suspended and told she wouldn't participate in the graduation ceremony (she says they told her she'd not get her diploma, they say she just has to pick it up on her own from the office). She also says the school threatened to screw with her college application materials if she made further trouble.

Thing is, the post doesn't actually mention the school. So one of a couple of things happened here. One is that the school admins read "I have some ruthless trump supporting 'jesus' mfs on here" and thought, "Well, hey. We're Trump supporting Jesus mfs-- clearly she's talking about us." The other possibility is, as Armstrong contends, the school simply wanted to punish her for being gay.

Armstrong has filed a lawsuit, and the media has provided Tennesse Christian Prep with all sorts of publicity it doesn't want (Armstrong's claims are "misleading" they say).

But there's one small detail that most of the media coverage is missing. On the school's website, on the admissions page, there's a whole tab about Tennessee's brand new voucher law, the Education Freedom Act, which, says the school, "promotes educational freedom by empowering families to make the best decisions for their children’s schooling."

Tennessee Christian has been following "the progress of this law for several years" including registering and getting approval as part of the pilot back in 2019. Now they have some thinking to do:

As an independent school and stewards of God's mission for Tennessee Christian, we feel a deep responsibility to thoroughly evaluate any government assistance. Tennessee Christian will not accept any funding that would alter, change, or modify the mission and vision we are called to lead. In collaboration with Rep. Kevin Raper, the Leadership Team, and the Board of Trustees, we are carefully considering whether the EFA is the right fit for Tennessee Christian.

What if the voucher law puts them in a position of not being able to discriminate against LGBTQ students? They won't stand for that. They have some other concerns as well.

1. The requirement for participating students to undergo national standardized testing through the EFA, though a list of approved testing materials has not yet been provided.

2. The obligation to report test results for participating students. Although the results are anonymous, Tennessee Christian needs more clarity on the specific reporting requirements.

3. The long-term sustainability of the EFA. Our administration and teachers are deeply committed to nurturing students from their early years through graduation. The lasting impact of this law on our school culture is an important factor in our assessment.

Were I in their shoes, I'd worry about some of that, too. And I give them full points for worrying about the long term effects of such a program, even if part of their concern is likely "What if the state dumps the program and we lose a bunch of families that can't afford us on their own? That would be a hell of a revenue hit.

We remain committed to carefully evaluating the implications of the EFA to ensure it aligns with the best interests of our students and community.
Although we do not yet have a definitive answer, we anticipate providing updates as new information becomes available.

If Tennessee Christian wants to operate with discriminatory policies, that is their right as a private institution. And they do-- the student handbook may open with a message about the importance of kindness, but its page about marriage, gender and sexuality is quite clear that there are only two genders, only one definition of marriage, and a list of sexual immorality that includes anything non-heteronormie. You can't disagree and still work or volunteer there.

Now, Tennessee Christian is not the worst one of these discriminatory policies that I've ever seen. That same page of the handbook seems to indicate that "hateful and harassing behavior" toward any individual will not be tolerated, and they have some actual anti-bullying policies.

But even if the school strives to present a kinder, gentler brand of Christian discrimination (and Armstrong's experience suggests that they are having a little trouble living up to their brand), it's still discriminatory and therefore should not be receiving a single penny of taxpayer money.

This is what vouchers are about--defunding a system that has an obligation to serve all students and giving that money to a system that can discriminate against whoever for whatever reason. Operate that private system if you feel you must, but do not fund it with public tax dollars. I hope Tennessee Christian decides not to accept vouchers. Better for them, and better for the taxpayers of Tennessee