Bradenton school refuses ‘homosexual’ parents. It got $1.1 million in vouchers, report says

A newspaper revealed that dozens of private schools accept taxpayer money and exclude students based on their sexual orientation, including one in Manatee County, sparking debates on religious freedom and, according to critics, state-sponsored discrimination.

The Orlando Sentinel found that 83 schools refused to admit LGBT — lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender — students based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. A handful of Florida schools had policies against students whose parents were gay.

All of the schools accepted publicly funded state scholarships and vouchers.

Bradenton Christian School, 3304 43rd St. W., found itself on the list. During its enrollment process, the school reviews both the children and their parent or guardian, according to a document on the school’s website.

Parents must “not be participating in practices that would be considered illegal, or considered by the school as immoral or inconsistent with a positive Christian lifestyle such as cohabitating without marriage or in a homosexual relationship,” the document states.

More than 180 students used a voucher at Bradenton Christian School last year, totaling more than $1.1. million in scholarships, according to the Sentinel investigation.

The Bradenton Herald sent an email to school spokeswoman Melanie Rosen and school Superintendent Dan Vande Pol on Thursday afternoon, to no avail. Neither were available on Friday afternoon, when a reporter visited the campus.

The Sentinel also identified 73 schools that preach against being gay or transgender, but it was unclear if their views affected admissions or student discipline. The newspaper identified a total of 156 schools, which received more than $129 million from Florida’s scholarship programs last year.

While state law prohibits discrimination against students based on their race, color or national origin, it seems LGBT students and families are offered no protection, and religious schools are offered certain exemptions under federal law.

Title IX, a federal civil rights law, prohibits discrimination against students based on their sex. But religious schools are exempt “to the extent that application of Title IX would be inconsistent with the religious tenets of the organization.”

Private schools are afforded certain religious freedoms, along with public tax dollars. Three of the scholarship programs are paid directly from Florida’s budget, while the Tax Credit Scholarship allows corporations to redirect their tax payments to a scholarship organization.

“State funds typically expended by a school district are allocated to families in the form of a voucher to pay partial or full tuition at a private school, including religious and non-religious options,” the EdChoice website states.

The scholarships and vouchers allow low-income students or students with disabilities to attend a private campus. Supporters believe the program offers parents more options while inspiring competition and innovation among public and private institutions.

But critics say the program is funneling public money into private schools, which operate with little oversight and the freedom to discriminate against students and families.

Galvano responds to controversy

In response to the investigation, Senate President Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, directed his staff to contact Step Up for Students, one of two organizations that administer the scholarships in Florida, according to an email from Galvano’s spokeswoman, Katie Betta.

He was reassured that Step Up was speaking to individual schools and, in some cases, helping to update their policies.

“President Galvano was concerned because he believes all schools, public and private, are institutions of learning where children should feel safe,” Betta wrote in her email to the Bradenton Herald.

After the investigation was published, two of the country’s largest banks, Fifth Third and Wells Fargo, chose to halt their donations to the program, but Fifth Third reversed course on Friday. U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said the withdrawn donations were a “publicity stunt aimed at earning ‘wokeness’ points with the radical left.”

Step Up believes corporate donors were “bullied into leaving the program” because of concerns at “a small percentage of private schools,” according to an email from Ron Matus, a spokesman for the organization.

According to the Sentinel investigation, at least 14 percent of scholarship students attended a private school where homosexuality was “condemned or, at a minimum, unwelcome.”

“In the 19-year history of the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship program, neither Step Up nor the Florida DOE has been informed of any discrimination against LGBTQ scholarship students,” Matus wrote.

“The loss of scholarships will hurt low-income, mostly black and Hispanic students, regardless of what schools they attend,” he continued. “Putting those students in the line of fire is not appropriate or constructive.”

He said Step Up contacted “scores of schools,” and approximately 50 had outdated polices that failed to document their current practices. Those schools agreed to update their websites and handbooks.

Bradenton Christian’s policy remained on the school website as of Friday evening.

When do beliefs become a practice?

West Coast Christian Academy, 1112 49th Ave. E., is a private school in Bradenton.

There was no reference to gender or sexuality on the school’s website, but its guiding organization has a firm stance against the LGBT community. The school “is operated in harmony with the guidance and direction of the North American Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church Office of Education,” according to its website.

“Adventist educational institutions do not condone gay, lesbian, or bisexual sexual practice or the promotion of sexual behavior outside of our biblical beliefs,” the Adventist organization said in its guidelines.

“Institutional governance documents, such as bylaws and student handbooks, must align fully with Church beliefs, and students are expected to adhere to the codes of conduct and all relevant institutional policies,” the guidelines continue.

It was unclear how the guidelines might affect operations at West Cost Christian Academy, which encourages parents to apply for a state scholarship on the school website.

Citing school policy, Principal Catherine Langsdale declined to comment on Friday afternoon, referring questions to Murray Cooper, an associate superintendent for the Florida Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.

Cooper did not respond to a list of questions from the Bradenton Herald, including a question on whether the school would respect any additions or changes to Florida law.

State Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, filed a bill to update the statute governing private schools and the scholarship program. If the legislation were to pass, schools could not deny enrollment based on “race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, disability, religion, sexual orientation, or gender identity.”

House Bill 45 is unlikely to pass in a legislature controlled by Republicans, who have continually backed and expanded the scholarship program. It also seems that a legal update would make little difference to religious private schools.

“On those occasions when the claims of civil government directly conflict with and contradict the teaching of the Word of God as understood by the Seventh-day Adventist Church, both the Church and its members are bound by that same Word of God to obey its precepts rather than those of human government (Acts 5:29),” the organization said on its website.

Are all private schools the same?

As part of the debate, voucher supporters said the money and the decision goes to families, who choose the best school for their children.

“The parent chooses religious schools in, perhaps, 80 percent of the cases when it comes to tax-credit scholarships,” said Erika Donalds, chair of the School Choice Movement.

Donalds was part of a four-person discussion hosted by Sarasota Tiger Bay on Thursday afternoon. The discussion was titled “School Vouchers and Scholarships: A Benefit or Bane?”

“Parents are choosing religious schools, but the only schools out there are religious schools,” said Ron Meyer, the former in-house general counsel for the Florida Education Association.

“It’s a circular reasoning,” he continued. “The fact is, money is going to pervasively religious schools, whether you agree with their religion or not.”

The Bradenton Herald reached out to several private schools to learn about their practices, and one responded. Next Generation Academics, 4635 26th St. W., is a Christian school in Bradenton.

As a matter of policy, the school would never base an enrollment decision on the sexual orientation of a student or family member, according to an email from Denise Jordan, the school’s director.

Likewise, the school would never expel its students for their sexual orientation or gender identity, Jordan said.

“Our policy states clearly that we do not discriminate for any reason, and we never have,” she concluded.

This story was originally published February 8, 2020 at 5:00 AM.