By Jo Yurcaba – NBC News
A private Christian school in Oklahoma dismissed a second grader and reportedly cut ties with her family after she confessed to a classmate that she liked him.
The student’s mother, Delanie Shelton, received a call from the Rejoice Christian School in Owasso, outside Tulsa, on Jan. 21, telling her to pick up her eight-year-old daughter Chloe after an “incident at the playground.”
When she got to school, assistant principal Kelli Owens asked her how she felt “about girls as girls.”
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“I said, ‘Well, if I’m being honest with you, I think it’s okay for girls to like girls.’ She seemed upset and surprised by my answer. “Shelton explained.
Director Rita Woolf asked where Chloe learned “this kind of language about the word gay.” Shelton replied that gay couples are featured on many children’s television shows and added, “Unless you fully protect your kids, it’s part of life.”
School officials asked her to take her daughter home and not bring her back the next day. When they got home, Shelton said Chloe started crying and told her a teacher told her the Bible says so “You can only marry and have children with a man, and having girls like girls is a sin, since it’s not in the Bible and it’s not right in the sight of God”.
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Shelton explained that the situation was “ heartbreaking ” for her and that her daughter cried when she asked if God still loved her and if she was wrong in feeling this way, then told her that God was loves her and always will.
“A school that is supposed to teach God’s love, grace, and forgiveness and have an eight-year-old tell her that God doesn’t love her is not okay,” she complained.
The next day, the superintendent, Joel Pepin, called to inform her that the school would “ end its relationship with the Shelton family, including Oliver, Chloe’s five-year-old brother, because the family’s beliefs were inconsistent with those at the center.
On January 28, Pepin released a statement saying, “Due to privacy and other factors, it is the school’s policy to refrain from making public comments about students or families.”
Access to the school handbook, which is online but limited. Based on screenshots shared by Shelton, it appears that the school has changed the manual since the ties with the Shelton family were cut, although neither version pertains to same-sex relationships.
In a screenshot taken by Shelton the day Chloe was expelled from school, the manual said “dating in school” is prohibited. In a second screenshot taken Tuesday, he indicated that students can build relationships “based on purity,” but that “inappropriate displays” of affection are not allowed.
Shelton said he had not studied the manual in detail because of the same-sex relationship policy when he enrolled Chloe at the age of four.
Since Chloe was kicked out, Woolf has refused to meet with the family, according to Shelton.
“They didn’t want to talk to me about anything,” he remarked, “just they threw my kids out after four years. We went to their church and Chloe played on the basketball team and cheered them on, so it was a big part of our lives. It was more than just school. “
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Shelton enrolled Chloe and Oliver in a new center, saying the family has received both local and national support since the incident. Households across the street from Rejoice organized a parade for Chloe and put up supportive posters in their yard, and the family received tickets in the mail.
“It made her so much more comfortable to be herself and to know that God still loves her and all these people who don’t even know her support her and love her too,” Shelton said.
The family has not taken legal action, but “the possibility is still on the table”, According to the mother.
However, it is unclear whether a lawsuit would work in favor of the family. Paul Castillo, an attorney and student rights strategist at Lambda Legal, a legal advocacy group for LGBTQ rights, reported that private religious schools meet slightly different standards than public schools and may be exempt from certain federal protections from discrimination, even if they have federal funds.
In fact, Rejoice received more than $ 1 million through the federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program for the coronavirus pandemic in April. Oklahoma’s non-discrimination laws don’t include LGBTQ people either.
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Religious schools are not required by federal law to publish their position on same-sex relationships. For example, many parents enroll their children in religious schools and are surprised when they oppose same-sex marriage, Castillo said.
“It’s important for parents and prospective families to take a look at the school and ask questions about diversity and inclusion,” advised Castillo, noting that there are private religious centers that welcome LGBTQ families.
What Chloe wants can change as she gets older, according to her mom, who just wants her to know that “ it doesn’t matter who she loves in the end, she will always receive support and love. ”