The Charles Finney School Receives Backlash After New Homophobic Policy

It’s the start of a new school year and with that comes the annual policy handbook, which caused backlash from parents at a local private Christian school, the Charles Finney School. The new policy says the school “reserves the right to discontinue enrollment of LGBTQIA+ students.” Many parents are taking action against this new homophobic policy.

Heidi Buckler, a parent at Finney, received an email from the school about updates to the student handbook that had shocked her. Buckler stated: “The student lifestyle section, in particular, I found hateful, and I had to read it a couple of times to make sure I was reading it properly.” Another anonymous parent stated: “My son said they never called him a conversion therapist but said he could work with you to make you not gay.” Conversion Therapy is illegal in New York State.

The handbook reads that the school has reserved the “right” to “discontinue enrollment” of some students. “This includes, but is not limited to homosexual lifestyles or alternative gender identities, and/or promoting, encouraging, or influencing other students about such practices on campus.”

Finney Principle Michael VanLeeuwen claims that students have never been asked to leave, but “the promotion of alternative lifestyles on campus are not permitted as they do not support our mission as a school.”

Source: 13 WHAM