By Jo Yurcaba - NBC News
A private Christian school in Oklahoma expelled a second-grader and severed ties with her family allegedly after she confessed to a classmate that she had a crush on her.
The student's mother, Delanie Shelton, received a call on January 21 from Rejoice Christian School in Owasso, outside Tulsa, telling her that she had to pick up her eight-year-old daughter, Chloe, after an "incident on the playground."
When she got to school, Assistant Principal Kelli Owens asked her how she felt "about girls like girls."
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"I said, 'Well, if I'm honest with you, I think it's okay for girls to like girls.' She
seemed upset and surprised by my response,"
Shelton recounted.
The director, Rita Woolf, asked where Chloe learned "this kind of language about the word gay."
Shelton responded that gay couples are represented on many children's television shows, adding: "Unless you fully protect your children, it is part of life."
School officials asked her to take her daughter home and not bring her back the next day.
When they got home, Shelton said that Chloe started crying and told her that a teacher told her that the Bible says that
"you can only marry and have children with a man, and for girls to like girls is a sin. it's not in the Bible and it's not right in God's eyes
.
"
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Shelton explained that the situation was "heartbreaking" for her and that her daughter was crying as she asked her if God still loved her and if she was wrong for feeling that way, to which she told her that God loves her and always will.
“A school that is supposed to teach God's love, grace and forgiveness and make an eight-year-old tell her that God doesn't love her is not okay,” she lamented.
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The next day, the superintendent, Joel Pepin, called to inform her that the school would "end its relationship" with the Shelton family, including Oliver, Chloe's five-year-old brother, because the family's beliefs did not align. with those in the center.
On January 28, Pepin issued a statement that said: "Due to privacy and other factors, it is the school's policy to refrain from public comment on any student or family."
Access to the school handbook, which is online but restricted.
However, based on screenshots shared by Shelton, it appears the school has changed the manual since severing ties with the Shelton family, although neither version addresses same-sex relationships.
In a screenshot taken by Shelton on the day Chloe was expelled, the manual said that "dating at school" is prohibited.
In a second screenshot taken Tuesday, he indicated that students can build relationships "based on purity," but that "inappropriate displays" of affection are not allowed.
Shelton said he did not examine the manual in detail for its policy on same-sex relationships when he enrolled Chloe at age four.
Since Chloe was kicked out, Woolf has refused to have a family reunion, according to Shelton.
"They weren't willing to talk to me about anything," he said, "they just
kicked my kids out after four years
.
We went to their church and Chloe played on the basketball team and cheered them on, so it was a big part of our life.
It was more than just school. "
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Shelton enrolled Chloe and Oliver in a new center and said the family has received both local and national support since the incident.
Households across the street from Rejoice put on a parade for Chloe and put up posters with messages of support in their yards, and the family received cards in the mail.
"It made her feel so much more comfortable being herself and knowing that God still loves her and all these people who don't even know her support her and love her too," Shelton said.
The family has not taken legal action, but "the possibility is still on the table,"
according to the mother.
However, it is unclear whether a lawsuit would go in favor of the family.
Paul Castillo, an attorney and student rights strategist at Lambda Legal, a legal advocacy group for LGBTQ rights, reported that private religious schools are governed by slightly different standards than public schools and may be exempt from some federal protections against discrimination, even if they receive federal funds.
In fact, Rejoice received more than a million dollars in April through the federal government's Paycheck Protection Program for the coronavirus pandemic.
Also, Oklahoma nondiscrimination laws do not include LGBTQ people.
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Religious schools are not required by federal law to publish their position on same-sex relationships.
For example, many parents enroll their children in religious schools and are then surprised when they declare their opposition to same-sex marriage, according to Castillo.
"It's important for parents and future families to take a look at the school and ask questions about diversity and inclusion," Castillo advised, noting that there are private religious centers that welcome LGBTQ families.
What Chloe wants can change as she gets older, according to her mother, who just wants her to know that "it doesn't matter who she ends up loving, she will have support and love no matter what."
