Child Expelled from Catholic School Because of Gay Parents

(MYFOX NATIONAL) - The recent decision by a Catholic school in Boulder, Colo. not to allow a preschooler to return next year because the child’s parents are lesbians appears to be on solid legal ground.

KUSA-TV reported that experts believe it is legal for the Denver Archdiocese to deny a student enrollment when school policy is violated.

The Archdiocese says parents who enroll their kids at Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic School are expected to follow the Catholic Church's beliefs, according to the Denver station.

“Parents living in open discord with Catholic teaching in areas of faith and morals unfortunately choose by their actions to disqualify their children from enrollment. To allow children in these circumstances to continue in our school would be a cause of confusion for the student in that what they are being taught in school conflicts with what they experience in the home,” according to a statement from the Archdiocese .

“We discussed the reasons with them and have sought to respond in a way that does not abruptly displace the student but at the same time respects the integrity of the Catholic school’s philosophy,” the statement said.

Disallowing students to enroll in church-affiliated schools because of policy violations has met legal challenges before.

Last year, a three-judge panel of the 4th District Court of Appeals ruled in favor of a California Lutheran school that had expelled two 16-year-old girls for having "a bond of intimacy" that was "characteristic of a lesbian relationship." The girls had sued, contending the school had violated a state anti-discrimination law, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The court said the private religious school was not a business, so it did not have to comply with the state law that prohibits businesses from discriminating, according to the newspaper.