Mid Vermont Christian School, a small private institution in Quechee, Vermont, has found itself at the heart of a national debate over religious freedom and transgender participation in school sports. On September 9, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit granted the school a preliminary injunction, allowing it to rejoin the Vermont Principals’ Association (VPA), the state’s governing body for school athletics and co-curricular activities, while a legal battle continues to unfold.
The controversy began in 2023 when Mid Vermont Christian School made the decision to forfeit a high school girls’ basketball playoff game. The reason? The opposing team included a transgender player, and school officials expressed concerns about “the fairness of the game and the safety of our players,” according to the Associated Press. This single act of forfeiture set off a chain reaction with consequences that extended far beyond the basketball court.
In response, the VPA expelled Mid Vermont Christian School from all state-sponsored athletic and non-athletic events, including debate tournaments and science fairs. The VPA cited its policies on race, gender, and disability awareness, arguing that the school had violated these principles by refusing to play against a team with a transgender athlete. As a result, the school was cut off from nearly every extracurricular opportunity the state offered.
Feeling aggrieved, Mid Vermont Christian School, along with several students and parents, turned to Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a conservative legal advocacy group, for help. The ADF filed a lawsuit alleging that the school’s expulsion violated its First Amendment rights. The school argued that its decision to forfeit the game was made to avoid breaching its religious beliefs—a stance it had maintained throughout its nearly 30-year participation in the state’s sports league.
“The government cannot punish religious schools — and the families they serve — by permanently kicking them out of state-sponsored sports simply because the state disagrees with their religious beliefs,” said David Cortman, an attorney with Alliance Defending Freedom representing the school, in a statement quoted by the Associated Press.
The legal battle initially did not go in the school’s favor. In 2024, a lower district court ruled for the state, reasoning that the VPA’s policies were applied uniformly and did not target religious organizations for enforcement or discrimination. However, the story took a dramatic turn when the Second Circuit Court of Appeals reviewed the case.
The appeals court found that the VPA’s actions were not religiously neutral. In its ruling, the court wrote, “We conclude that plaintiffs are likely to succeed in showing that the VPA’s expulsion of Mid Vermont was not neutral because it displayed hostility toward the school’s religious beliefs.” The court’s decision was clear: the expulsion was “unprecedented, overbroad, and procedurally irregular.” The judges took particular issue with the conduct of VPA’s executive director, Jay Nichols, who had testified before a Vermont legislative committee in favor of banning public funding to religious schools just days after the forfeiture incident. Nichols reportedly told lawmakers, “thank goodness the student in question didn’t attend that religious school,” and argued Vermont should not condone such discrimination.
The Second Circuit’s opinion emphasized that “the VPA may not impose discipline based on its view that Mid Vermont’s religious objection was ‘wrong.’” This statement underscored the court’s concern that the punishment was not only about policy enforcement but also about disagreement with the school’s religious stance.
The preliminary injunction granted by the appeals court means that, for now, Mid Vermont Christian School can resume participation in state-sanctioned sports and other activities. However, the legal battle is far from over, and the final outcome remains uncertain as the case continues to wind its way through the courts.
Neither Mid Vermont Christian School nor the Vermont Principals’ Association issued public comments in the immediate aftermath of the ruling, according to the Associated Press. The silence from both parties has left many in the community—and beyond—wondering how the dispute will ultimately be resolved and what it might mean for similar cases across the country.
This case is not occurring in a vacuum. It is part of a broader, heated national discussion about the rights of transgender athletes in public school sports and the intersection of those rights with religious liberty. Over the past several years, the question of whether transgender girls and women should be allowed to compete in women’s and girls’ sports has divided lawmakers, school boards, parents, and advocacy groups. According to the Associated Press, at least 26 states have enacted laws barring transgender women and girls from participating in certain women’s or girls’ sports competitions.
The Trump administration, for its part, pressed states to block transgender youth from participating in girls’ sports, a move that intensified the national debate. Now, with the U.S. Supreme Court set to consider the constitutionality of such bans in its upcoming term, the stakes have never been higher. The Vermont case, while focused on a specific set of facts, is emblematic of the larger legal and cultural battles playing out across the country.
The appeals court’s decision in favor of Mid Vermont Christian School has been hailed by some as a victory for religious freedom. Supporters argue that schools should not be forced to choose between their deeply held beliefs and participation in public life. Critics, however, worry that the ruling could open the door to discrimination under the guise of religious liberty, potentially undermining protections for marginalized students, including transgender youth.
It is clear that the legal, ethical, and social questions raised by this case are far from settled. The preliminary injunction is just one step in what promises to be a lengthy and contentious process, with implications that could reach far beyond Vermont’s borders. As the courts—and the country—grapple with these issues, all eyes will be on the Supreme Court’s upcoming term, where the constitutionality of bans on transgender athletes is set to take center stage.
For now, Mid Vermont Christian School is back on the court, but the game is far from over.
