'God has spoken on those issues': LGBTQ+ students NOT WELCOME in Florida's Grace Christian School
VALRICO, FLORIDA: A Florida Christian school's email to parents has come under the scanner owing to its anti-LGBTQ views. The email informs parents that from the oncoming school year, the school will be referring to students by the "gender on their birth certificate" and students "participating" in gay, transgender, or other similar 'lifestyles' "will be asked to leave the school immediately."
Grace Christian School, located in Valrico, sent out the controversial email on June 6, 2022. According to NBC, the subject line of the email reads, "Important School Policy Point of Emphasis. ... Please Read." After the contents of the email were made public, the school's administrator Barry McKeen took to Facebook to share a video defending the administration's stance.
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"We believe that God created mankind in His image: male (man) and female (woman), sexually different but with equal dignity," the email states, adding, "Therefore, one's biological sex must be affirmed and no attempts should be made to physically change, alter, or disagree with one's biological gender — including, but not limited to, elective sex reassignment, transvestite, transgender, or non-binary gender fluid acts of conduct (Genesis 1:26-28). Students in school will be referred to by the gender on their birth certificate and be referenced in name in the same fashion."
An orthodox private Christian school, they go further to cite scripture, identifying what is sinful. "We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, transgender identity/lifestyle, self-identification, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery and pornography are sinful in the sight of God and the church (Genesis 2:24; Leviticus 18:1-30; Romans 1:26-29; I Corinthians 5:1; I Corinthians 6:9; I Thessalonians 4:2-7)."
According to Fox News Digital, administrator McKeen explained that these rules also apply to students who are found to be engaging in sexual activity outside of marriage. He said, "We don't expect any of our students who are not married to be sexual, whether it be bisexual, heterosexual or homosexual. I tell people, if a kid came in the doors, exclaiming how he was having sex with his girlfriend that student would be expelled as well."
In the video posted on Facebook, McKeen emphasizes what is "rooted in scriptures," and states that students identifying as transgender or homosexual cannot attend their school. "God has spoken on those issues, explicitly, aggressively, and we have had these policies in our school since day number one in the early 1970s. This is not new," he adds.
Parents need to agree to all the policies and procedures stated in the email before their wards start the next school session in August. One parent has been reported to pull out her daughter from the school, saying that while she respects the school's opinion, she feels her child's "wellbeing, right, and mental health is more important." Her daughter, who identifies as lesbian, said she felt like a "social outcast" and that she is happier at her new school.