A case involving a Canadian Christian school embroiled in a fight with the government over “offensive” Bible passages offers a warning to U.S. private schools cheering the creation of school choice programs.

Cornerstone Christian Academy in Kingman, Alberta, receives funds from the province for its 180 students under an agreement with the Battle River School Division. Alberta law allows for faith-based alternative schools as part of a publicly funded education system. Under the contract signed with the school board in 2009 and reaffirmed in 2015, Cornerstone is free to operate as a Christian school based on Biblical teaching. But the school board now finds a passage in Cornerstone’s handbook that references the sinfulness of homosexuality “offensive” and in violation of Alberta human rights laws.

In May, the school board ordered Cornerstone to refrain from reading or studying “any Scripture that could be considered offensive to particular individuals.” Lawyers with the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, who represent Cornerstone, say that demand violates the Canadian Constitution as well as precedent set by the country’s Supreme Court. Canadian law requires the government to remain neutral when it comes to religion, which means it cannot prevent people from being offended by the beliefs of others, wrote Justice Centre president John Carpay.

“Many religious teachings are offensive to atheists, relativists, hedonists, and materialists,” he noted. “This cuts both ways: The morality (or lack thereof) that is taught in public schools is offensive to religious parents. Government neutrality is meant to preserve and promote multiculturalism and true diversity, not to impose a ‘one-size-fits all’ model on every school.”

But the government has competing interests: diversity and inclusivity.

School board president Laurie Skori cited the Alberta Human Rights Act as justification for the board’s demands, noting it prohibits discrimination “because of the race, religious beliefs, colour, gender, gender identity, gender expression, physical disability, mental disability, ancestry, place of origin, marital status, source of income, family status, or sexual orientation of that person or class of persons or of any other person or class of persons.”

Carpay noted that the Canadian Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld the right of faith-based groups to “discriminate” in order to maintain their particular beliefs. But court precedent can change, and if Canada’s legal guardians determine inclusivity trumps diversity, Cornerstone could find itself on the losing end of a long court battle. Trinity Western University officials could tell them something about that.

U.S. Christian schools do not have access to state funding, an independence that has long protected them from government interference. But school choice programs complicate that relationship. During a recent congressional hearing, Democrats grilled Education Secretary Betsy DeVos about protections for LGBT students at private schools that receive school choice funding. As a “worst offender” example, they pointed to Lighthouse Christian Academy in Bloomington, Ind., which receives close to $665,000 in state voucher funds to enroll 152 of its 300 students. Lighthouse “discriminates” because it follows the teachings of Scripture and does not allow homosexuality or “any form of sexual immorality” among its students or in their families.

DeVos disavowed discrimination but tossed the issue back to Congress, saying her department only enforced existing law, it didn’t write new laws. President Donald Trump rolled back his predecessor’s attempt to rewrite existing law by interpreting the term “sex” in Title IX to include gender identity. For now, local public schools can set their own gender identity policies governing restroom and locker room access. But groups on both sides of the debate have filed suit, and the U.S. Supreme Court likely will be called to settle the issue sooner, rather than later.

What happens if Supreme Court justices outlaw “discrimination” based on traditional views of sex and Biblical views of sexuality? U.S. schools might find themselves in Cornerstone Christian Academy’s situation, forced to give up their values or forgo government funds.

Speaking of Title IX …

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights issued a memo June 6 to teachers and public schools warning that a refusal to address students with their preferred pronoun could trigger a federal investigation.

Conservatives see the directive as a bad sign because it forces schools to recognize gender identity as reality. But LGBT activists aren’t happy with the memo either because it doesn’t list failure to provide restroom and locker room access as an investigation-triggering offense.

Title IX’s definition of “sex” remains at the center of these debates and the federal response to transgender issues. LGBT activists hope the U.S. Supreme Court eventually will side with the Obama administration’s definition, negating the need for Congress to make gender identity a protected class—and that would be a tough sell in the Republican-controlled House.

Meanwhile, free speech advocates say the government can’t force teachers to use pronouns they don’t believe are accurate.

“Requiring false pronoun usage by teachers is a compelled speech violation for teachers, and compelling students to participate in a lie violates their right to free speech,” said Mat Staver of Liberty Counsel, a group that litigates First Amendment cases. “I thought we had seen the last of this nonsense coming out of the Department of Education. I call upon Betsy DeVos to end this new policy.” —L.J.

More on the free speech front

The U.S. Senate took up the issue of free speech on college campuses Tuesday in a committee hearing prompted by the rash of violent protests during the just-concluded school year, where students across the country rallied to shout down mostly conservative speakers. Predictably, free speech advocates condemned the rise of mob rule to silence dissent, while university administrators stressed the need to maintain order.

Eugene Volokh, a professor at the UCLA School of Law, denounced the increasing use of the “heckler’s veto” and urged schools to crack down on disruptors.

“I think the answer is to make sure they don’t create a disturbance and to threaten them with punishment, meaningful punishment, if they do create a disturbance,” he said. “If thugs learn that all they need to do in order to suppress speech is to threaten violence, then there will be more such threats.”

Even liberal student groups said protesters shouldn’t be allowed to quell unpopular opinions.

“Instead of nurturing thoughtful debate of controversial topics, many college educators and administrators discourage free debate by shielding students from offensive ideas,” said Zachary Wood, a self-described liberal Democrat and president of the Uncomfortable Learning student group at Williams College in Massachusetts. “Yet, one person’s offensive idea is another person’s viewpoint.”

In Wisconsin, state lawmakers are expected Wednesday to pass a measure aimed at punishing protesters who repeatedly cause disruptions of campus speeches. Gov. Scott Walker supports it: “To me, a university should be precisely the spot where you have an open and free dialogue about all different positions. But the minute you shut down a speaker, no matter whether they are liberal or conservative or somewhere in between, I just think that’s wrong.” —L.J.

Free college tuition spreads

Michigan students are the latest to get a chance to go to college for free. Last week, the University of Michigan Board of Regents approved a free tuition program for students from families making $65,000 or less annually. The state’s median family income is $63,893. Starting Jan. 1, 2018, the university will waive the $7,413 per-semester fee for qualifying students, who must still come up with money for room and board, and school administrators say other aid packages will help cover those costs. New York became the first state to offer free college tuition earlier this year. Other states, including Tennessee, offer free tuition at community colleges, but education policy experts say the free four-year model likely will spread. —L.J.

Bringing the kids to work

North Carolina lawmakers are considering a bill that would allow companies to open charter schools for their employees’ children. Florida, Louisiana, and Connecticut already have similar measures, but the schools have met with mixed success. The first workplace charter, connected to the Ryder truck rental company headquarters, opened in Florida in 1999. The company ended its charter relationship after relocating. Another charter school pioneered by the JFK Medical Center in Lake Worth, Fla., also cut ties with its founder as employee interest waned. But the state’s one remaining workplace charter, connected to a retirement community in central Florida, enrolls more than 3,100 students. A Louisiana hospital group will open that state’s first workplace charter next year. North Carolina advocates say workplace charters could help bring jobs to the state. —L.J.