Moody Bible Institute recently filed suit against Chicago Public Schools after CPS refused to allow Moody students to participate in its student-teaching program unless the college abandoned its religiously based hiring practices.
Moody’s Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education program prepares future elementary school teachers and requires extensive classroom observation, practicum, and student-teaching hours. CPS officials, however, have blocked
Moody students from completing those requirements unless the institution relinquishes its ability to hire faculty and staff aligned with its mission and biblical values.
That condition raises a serious question: may a public institution condition access to a generally available program on a private organization’s willingness to alter its internal governance and hiring practices?
As Jeremiah Galus of Alliance Defending Freedom explained, “Chicago desperately needs more teachers…[yet] by excluding Moody for its religious beliefs, Chicago Public Schools is illegally injecting itself into a religious non-profit’s hiring practices.”
When Moody sought a narrowly tailored amendment recognizing its rights as a religious institution, CPS declined to make any accommodation and continued to deny Moody students access to the program.
The case ultimately asks a broader question: what limits, if any, exist on a public institution’s authority to impose ideological conditions on participation in public programs?
Read More Here: https://adflegal.org/press-release/chicago-public-schools-refuses-student-teachers-from-moody-bible-over-colleges-religious-hiring-practices/