Date of Award

Fall 2019

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

College

College of Education

Department

Department of Education

Primary Advisor

Dr. Patty LeBlanc

Second Advisor

Dr. Janet Deck

Third Advisor

Dr. Lois McGuire

Abstract

This mixed-methods, non-experimental, exploratory study investigated the private school admission policies related to the admission of students from same-sex families and homosexual or transgender students. The US Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) has had far-reaching consequences for Christian businesses, organizations and ministries. As the rapidly changing socio-political environment embraces LGBTQ concerns, private religious schools need to re-evaluate their admission policies and prepare to address new types of admission decisions. The theory base in this study was the evolutionary theory of social change. In this present study, the results of a nation-wide, anonymous on-line survey (n = 80) of both secular and religious private schools as well as semi-structured interviews of religious school administrators (n = 5) revealed that almost 73% of Christian schools do not have a policy in place to guide admission decisions regarding children from homosexual families or children with same-sex attractions or gender dysphoria. The results from this current study may help private, faith-based school administrators develop written admission policies that promote balance between litigation concerns and the desire to serve and to show compassion in admission decisions.

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