Moody Bible Institute sues Chicago school board

Moody Bible Institute, an evangelical Christian college in downtown Chicago, sued the Chicago Board of Education on Tuesday over its student teacher program rules. Chicago Public Schools has refused to allow Moody students to participate in the district program because the school hires employees who share its religious beliefs.

By excluding it from the student teacher program, the private school contends that public school officials violated its religious hiring rights. Moody, which has around 2,300 students, said the denial hurts its students, the college’s reputation, and the city’s schools.

“Moody Bible Institute should not be forced to choose between our faith and helping students advance in their educational opportunities,” Moody President Mark Jobe said in a statement to WORLD.

The Illinois State Board of Education first approved Moody’s elementary education program in 2024. That opened up Moody’s ability to participate in Chicago’s student teacher program, which would allow students to earn their classroom observation and student teaching hours at the largest public school district in the state and one of the largest in the nation.

But when Moody asked to partner with Chicago Public Schools (CPS), the school system required the college to sign two agreements that prohibit Moody from hiring individuals who “discriminate” based on gender identity or sexual orientation.

These requirements effectively block Moody from employing those who align with the college’s Biblical beliefs on human sexuality and marriage. Moody says in the lawsuit that hiring individuals with these beliefs is “essential to forming Moody’s faith community” and advancing the college’s ministerial mission.

In July, Moody asked CPS to modify these agreements to let Moody hire like-minded employees, in keeping with its constitutional rights. CPS refused, stating that it can’t “accommodate language that permits discrimination” as “CPS maintains a strict district-wide non-discrimination policy,” according to the lawsuit. But Moody pointed out that the district has unevenly applied this standard, allowing other universities, such as Trinity Christian College, to participate in its student teacher program.

According to the suit, CPS’ denial hurts Moody students by forcing them to look elsewhere for public school classroom observation and student teaching placements, which will likely be less desirable and further away from the college.

The school also argues the exclusion harms the reputation of its elementary education program for current and prospective students. The CPS denial conveys to students that Moody’s degree could “diminish their job prospects,” the school says.

Moody called the exclusion “troubling” since CPS struggles to fill hundreds of empty teaching positions every year. “By barring Moody and its students from participation, the board not only violates their constitutional and statutory rights but also deprives its own schools and students of well-prepared and qualified student teachers,” the lawsuit says.

Moody says it tried to resolve the dispute out of court, but CPS refused to cooperate. The school is asking for equal access to CPS’ program and to receive damages for the constitutional injuries.

CPS did not immediately return a request for comment on Tuesday afternoon.

The First Amendment ensures that the government can’t deny participation in a program simply because of an organization’s religious beliefs, said Ryan Tucker, an attorney at Alliance Defending Freedom, which represents Moody.

In the past eight years, the U.S. Supreme Court has tackled similar questions three times. In the 2017 case Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc. v. Comer, the high court found that the Missouri Department of Natural Resources violated a church’s free exercise of religion when it excluded the ministry from a state playground grant program. The court’s 2020 decision in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue and its 2022 decision in Carson v. Makin confirmed that religious parents and schools can participate in government tuition assistance programs on the same basis as secular schools.

Despite those rulings, Tucker said governments continue to challenge religious rights.

In 2023, a Phoenix-area elementary school district settled with Arizona Christian University after the district ended a student teaching partnership because of the school’s religious beliefs on Biblical marriage and sexuality.

This February, a federal district court ruled that Darren Patterson Christian Academy could fully participate in Colorado’s universal preschool program while maintaining its religious beliefs.

“The case law is very clear that religious organizations have the right to participate in these programs,” Tucker said. “This isn’t new, but surprisingly, the Chicago Public Schools is insisting that the school lay down … its First Amendment protections.”

Tim Sisk, the provost and senior vice president at Moody, said that student teaching helps students prepare for full-time careers and benefits schools that are short on teachers.

“There is a need each year for qualified teachers in the Chicago public school system, and many of these roles are filled by those who participated in the program,” Sisk said in a statement to WORLD. “Our students are not only losing out on opportunities to learn but to fill these roles and serve the city.”