A kindergarten student was barred from attending her class because her parents are a same-sex couple.
According to parents Emily and Jennie Parker, Bible Baptist Academy in DeQuincy, Louisiana, they were informed about the school’s decision days before the class started.
The school’s director and the pastor said their relationship is not in-line with the school’s religious teachings about marriage.
In an interview with KPLC News, a local news outlet in Louisiana, the couple said they got called into the principal’s office before the class started on August 8. “They informed us that Zoey wouldn’t be able to go to school anymore because of our lifestyle choices,” Jennifer told KPLC.
“The pastor met us in the meeting room and started talking about gender identity and that they teach the words of the Lord and marriage was between a man and a woman,” Emily said.
“They didn’t think this was a good fit,” Emily added.
The couple has been married since 2016.
When the school informed them of its decision, Emily said she felt insulted and embarrassed. “We’ve never been confronted so bluntly about our relationship,” she said. Emily added that their family welcomed their marriage and that it felt natural.
“This was a big slap in the face,” Emily lamented.
Zoey, Jennifer’s niece, lost both her parents and was legally adopted by the couple on August 3, this year. Emily said they went to the school and got Zoey her uniforms as soon as they completed the adoption process.
Zoey attended Pre-K at Bible Baptist Academy before she was adopted.
“She lost her father, she lost her mother, and now she’s losing her school, which she loves very much,” Jennifer told KPLC.
NBC News tried reaching out to Bible Baptist Academy, but “no one was immediately reached,” they reported.
In a statement on the school’s website, Bible Baptist Academy explained that they are “committed to instructing and living in accordance with the teachings of Scripture.” https://www.bbadq.com/
“As a Baptist academy, we are also committed to provide an environment that is consistent with the beliefs that we hold,” the statement continued.
“We hold that those relationships, whether in dating or in marriage, should be between a man and a woman,” the school’s statement added.
