Pennsylvania Board of Education rejects Christian schools’ association as accreditor

• By Brett Sholtis/LNP | LancasterOnline

The Pennsylvania Board of Education on Thursday unanimously rejected an application from a Christian organization seeking to become an official accreditation agency for private schools in the commonwealth. The move came after some lawmakers and officials said the group’s policy on “Biblical sexuality” was discriminatory.

The Colorado-based Association of Christian Schools International already serves as an accrediting body for 2,200 private schools across the country. Its 116 member schools in Pennsylvania include Dayspring Christian Academy in Mountville, Lancaster County Christian School in Upper Leacock Township, Lititz Christian School and Mount Calvary Christian School near Elizabethtown.

The association sought state approval under Pennsylvania’s Private Academic Schools Act, which it said would give it an additional mark of credibility.

“Approval from the state of Pennsylvania would further demonstrate the high standards of ACSI accreditation protocol and the quality of our schools,” said Stephen Deck, ACSI senior director of accrediting and credentialing, during a public meeting Thursday.

One day earlier, a special committee said it opposed ACSI’s application. The board typically follows the recommendations of its special committees.

Randall Wenger of the Independence Law Center, who served as counsel for ACSI, said Thursday that ACSI had spent months going through a thorough review with the state and was on a path toward approval — until it was derailed.

“Unfortunately, there are some groups that would want to derail ACSI’s application to be recognized as an accrediting agency, not because of the quality of the work that they do, or the completeness of the application, but solely because of its religious beliefs,” Wenger said.

Wenger cited internal memos that he said he read about in a January LNP | LancasterOnline story, which showed that the Department of Education had reversed its position on ACSI.

“The article also claimed that there were dozens of Democratic lawmakers who contacted the board with the message that the state Board of Education and the Shapiro administration shouldn’t endorse organizations like ACSI because of its beliefs about human sexuality, marriage and gender,” Wenger said.

“I find it distasteful that somehow correspondence to the board from the Department of Education and various legislators ended up in the newspaper, but the applicant itself never saw those things,” he said.

Groups opposing ACSI’s application pointed to its policies on how member schools should approach sexual orientation and gender identity. The nonprofit students’ rights group Education Law Center pointed to ACSI’s 2023 document, “Guiding Principles on Biblical Sexuality.” The document has since been removed from ACSI’s website.

“A review of ACSI’s website and guidance resources disclose that the ‘biblical worldview’ espoused by ACSI is extremely narrow and highly discriminatory in multiple ways – and particularly traumatizing and detrimental to students who identify as LGBTQ+,” wrote legal director Maura McInerney and senior attorney Kristina Moon in a January memo to the education board.

Though these issues drove discussion leading up to the hearing, board members did not mention them Thursday. State Sen. Lindsey Williams, D-Pittsburgh, who serves on the board, listed three reasons why she voted against ACSI’s bid.

Williams said there’s legal uncertainty around whether the board has the authority to endorse accrediting organizations that indicate they will only accredit certain types of schools.

Secondly, she said ACSI does not need state approval to endorse private schools.

And, she said ACSI’s application “does not meet the requirements to be approved and lacks evidence of how they would properly evaluate academic instruction and curriculum.”

Asked about whether the accrediting agency can appeal, or reapply, Wenger said, “ACSI is exploring its options.” He said the organization has been approved in every other state where it has applied to be recognized.

“ACSI fulfilled all the requirements to be recognized by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as an accrediting agency,” Wenger said. “It was denied recognition simply because it focuses on religious education. That’s religious discrimination.”

The Pennsylvania Board of Education did not respond to requests for comment.

Thursday afternoon, Republican state Rep. Bryan Cutler of Drumore Township weighed in on social media. Cutler, who is the House Education Committee minority chairman, said he questions the value of involving the state government in overseeing education.

“Once government has become entangled in their oversight, private schools lose the freedom to be independent,” Cutler said. “This is contrary to their goals. Furthermore, the State Board of Education does not need to approve accreditation for ACSI, because it’s already permitted to function under current Pennsylvania law. The actions today at the state board meeting will not affect ACSI’s current ability to meet the objectives expressed in its application.”

This reporter’s work is funded by the Lancaster County Local Journalism Fund. For more information, or to make a contribution, please visit lanc.news/supportlocaljournalism.