Chicago Public Schools refuses to hire teachers from one of the nation’s most prominent Christian colleges because the school follows the Bible’s teaching on marriage and sex.
The Moody Bible Institute of. Chicago has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the Chicago Board of Education for religious discrimination over its hiring practices. Alliance Defending Freedom is represent the school.
They allege that Chicago Public Schools “has prevented Moody Bible Institute from participating in its student teaching program unless it gives up its right to hire like-minded individuals who share and live out its religious beliefs and mission to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
Moody, which was founded in 1886 by famed evangelist and pastor Dwight L. Moody, offers a degree in elementary education. Students teachers are required to have access to classroom observation, practicum and student teaching hours.
However, Chicago Public Schools refused to let the Christian students step foot in the classroom unless Moody Bible Institute abandoned “its religiously based hiring practices and hire employees who disagree with Moody’s core mission and biblical values.”
“Chicago desperately needs more teachers to fill hundreds of vacancies, but public school administrators are putting personal agendas ahead of the needs of families,” said ADF attorney Jeremiah Galus. “Moody holds its faculty and students to high standards of excellence and is more than qualified to participate in Chicago’s student-teaching program.”
ADF argued that Moody hires faculty and staff who are ambassadors to its mission of spreading the gospel and preparing students through biblical, practical, and relevant training. All employees must share and live out its biblical beliefs and values, including those on marriage and human sexuality.
The Illinois State Board of Education approved Moody’s degree program in 2024 but Chicago Public Schools refused to let Moody’s students participate in the student-teaching program because they allege the Christians “discriminate against any individual with respect to compensation, or other terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of . . . religion, . . . gender identity/expression, [or] sexual orientation.”
When Moody sought a potential amendment to the policy recognizing its rights as a religious institution, Chicago Public Schools continued to refuse to accommodate Moody’s religious rights.
“By excluding Moody for its religious beliefs, Chicago Public Schools is illegally injecting itself into a religious non-profit’s hiring practices, which the Constitution and state laws expressly forbid,” Galus said.
Forcing a Christian school to hire non-Christians makes about as much sense as forcing a barbecue joint to hire vegan pitmasters.
