Vermont pays Christian school $566k for athletics ban based on girls' forfeit against male: lawyers

Mid Vermont Christian School is still suing other state officials because they have "yet again excluded all religious schools" from participating in the Green Mountain State's tuition and other public benefits programs, lawyers say.

By Greg Piper

Published: April 29, 2026 3:46pm

A Christian school banned from athletic competition in Vermont because its girls' basketball team refused to play another with a male has settled its lawsuit with one defendant while broader litigation continues against others.

The Vermont Principals' Association, which oversees all state-sponsored extracurriculars in the Green Mountain State, agreed to pay $566,000 in damages and attorney's fees to resolve Mid Vermont Christian School's claims, the latter's lawyers at the Alliance Defending Freedom said Wednesday.

The notice of dismissal against VPA Executive Director Jay Nichols in his official and individual capacities says it only covers him but doesn't provide settlement terms, including the settlement amount and breakdown between damages and attorney's fees.

"For more than two years, state officials denied Mid Vermont Christian School a public benefit available to all other schools in Vermont just because it stood by the widely held, biblical belief that boys and girls are different," ADF Senior Counsel David Cortman said.

"As a coach, I always want my team to play in fair and safe competitions," girls' basketball coach Chris Goodwin said. "As a dad, I want my daughter to know that she should always stand up for her beliefs and should never be punished for that decision."

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered VPA to reinstate Mid Vermont to the league last fall after oral arguments forecast VPA would lose, with judges probing whether the school's initial secular objection or the league's judgment of its religious beliefs determined the fate of its First Amendment free exercise suit.

The suit continues against Vermont Agency of Education Secretary Zoie Saunders, State Board of Education Chair Jennifer Samuelson and Waits River Valley School Board, because they have "yet again excluded all religious schools, including Mid Vermont, and their students from participating in the state’s tuition program and other public benefit programs," ADF said.

VPA's Nichols did not immediately answer a query to confirm the settlement amount with the school.