Featured Image Credit: Emily Parker/Facebook/NBC
Topics: US News
Jess Hardiman
Parents of a kindergartener in America claim their daughter was kicked out of school because they are gay, saying their ‘lifestyle choices’ were apparently a concern.
Married couple Emily and Jennie Parker were allegedly told their adopted daughter could not attend a school as their relationship did not adhere to the religious teachings at the Bible Baptist Academy in DeQuincy, Louisiana.
They adopted five-year-old Zoey Parker – who is Emily’s biological niece – on 3 August this year after her father died at the age of just 22, following an accident at work in September 2020.
But the couple were allegedly told little Zooey couldn’t be a kindergartener at the school, having learned last Saturday that they’d need to find her a new place to be enrolled.
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Speaking to NBC News, Jennie, 31, said: “Because of our lifestyle choices, we wouldn’t be a good fit for the school.”
Zoey had attended pre-school at the academy last year, and had already made friends and loved her teachers.
But Jennie said a bombshell came during a meeting with a pastor and the school’s director – just two days before the school year was about to begin.
According to Emily, 28, the pastor told them that Bible Baptist Academy was a religious-based institution that teaches more than just academics - adding that marriage is between a man and woman only, as per what is taught at the school.
Bible Baptist Academy has since addressed 'the recent events' in a statement on its website, which says the school is 'committed to instructing and living in accordance with the teachings of Scripture'.
"We believe that the Bible teaches that every life has value and that there is dignity in all of us because we have been created in the image of God," the statement continues.
"The Bible also teaches us to love everyone with the love of God despite their personal choices. We strive to teach this to the students who attend. We encourage them to show love and compassion to everyone. As a Baptist academy, we are also committed to provide an environment that is consistent with the beliefs that we hold. We want our students to not only know our beliefs, but we want them to see them as well. Regarding personal relationships, we hold that those relationships, whether in dating or in marriage, should be between a man and a woman."
"We live in wonderful country! We have been granted the freedom to worship as we see fit. And as a Christian institution, we are protected by federal laws that give us the opportunity to teach and practice our beliefs."
The school said it feels 'deeply' that its first obligation is to God and 'being faithful to Him', acknowledging how, at times, its commitment to upholding such Christian values will not 'line up with the values of other people'.
"This should not be interpreted that we have any hatred or malice toward them," the statement said.
"We are just as committed to loving all people as we are to holding to Bible principles that people may not agree with or may not understand."
UNILAD has reached out to Bible Baptist Academy for comment.
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