5-Year-Old Kicked Out of School for Having Two Moms
Sheena and Lashaune’s daughter attended preschool and summer school at the same place, but just before kindergarten kicked off this year, the mothers were informed that their 5-year-old would not be allowed to attend the school because they are lesbians.
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“If we knew from the beginning that this was unacceptable, they didn’t condone or believe in this, if it was such a big deal, we would have never started her off there,” Sheena, a stay-at-home mom in San Diego, Calif., told KGTV regarding the Mt. Erie Christian Academy on Tuesday. Her wife, Lashaune, is currently deployed with the U.S. Navy. (The mothers asked KGTV not to release their last names, nor their daughter’s, out of respect for their privacy).
San Diego mom, Sheena (Photo: KGTV)
The school’s pastor reportedly met privately with the couple on Sept. 4 to share the news with them, and speaking out about it now for the first time, Sheena admitted, “It was heartbreaking…I just couldn’t believe that they did that.” (The pastor was not available to comment as of press time).
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Her daughter, currently at home as they search for another kindergarten for her to attend, is also upset. “I miss my teachers, my friends,” the girl told KGTV. (Yahoo Parenting was unable to locate Sheena for comment).
Sheena’s daughter’s drawing of her family (Photo: KGTV)
The school board hasn’t softened its stance, however. In a Sept. 24 Facebook post, the private parochial school for kindergarten through grade 6 referred to its admissions policy as a “Biblical decision,” declaring, “We stand firmly behind our board’s decision and ask that you support us through this time. We may receive some backlash from those who do not respect our Biblical perspective, however we will continue to provide a Christian education.”
Mt. Erie Christian Academy (Photo: KGTV)
A Mt. Erie staffer told Yahoo Parenting that the school is “not at liberty to discuss this story,” but according to the parent and student handbook, revised in June and obtained by KGTV, the school insists: “On those occasions in which the atmosphere or conduct within a particular home is counter to or in opposition to the biblical lifestyle that the school teaches, the school reserves the right, within its sole discretion, to refuse admission of an applicant or to discontinue enrollment of a student. This includes, but is not necessarily limited to, living in, condoning or supporting sexual immorality; practicing homosexual lifestyle or alternative gender identity; promoting such practices; or otherwise having the inability to support the moral principles of the school (Leviticus 20:13a; Romans 1:21-27; Matthew 19:4-6; I Corinthians 6:9-20).”
The academy’s role, spelled out in the handbook, is “to work in conjunction with the home to mold students to be Christ like.” And the parents of other students have been voicing their support of the school. “It’s too bad,” one parishioner wrote on Facebook, “but these are the times in which we live. I appreciate … Mt. Erie for standing strongly on the word of God. It’s the only way!” But Sheena has asked where Mt. Erie’s compassion is for her daughter.
Sheena and Lashaune (Photo: KGTV)
“I don’t want her to ever have to be discriminated against because of her lifestyle,” said the mom, who revealed that she intends to file a civil rights lawsuit against the school, even though the private institution has the right, per the First Amendment, to ban a student on the basis of their religious beliefs. “That’s not fair.“
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