Citipointe Christian College, a Brisbane private school which made headlines for its “inhumane” enrolment contract discriminating against gay and trans students, has finally conceded to nation-wide backlash.
ICYMI, Citipointe Christian College emailed out an enrolment contract which said trans students would “excluded” and compared same-sex relationships to paedophilia. The contract was met with wide-spread backlash, and a petition launched to rescind the contract garnered over 30,000 signatures in less than a day.
The school’s principal, Brian Mulheran, wrote to parents this morning acknowledging the distressed caused by the enrolment contract, which was mandatory to sign if parents wanted their children to remain at the school.
“The College has decided to withdraw the amended Enrolment Contract at this time, and will revert to the previous terms of enrolment,” The College said in a statement, per ABC.
“Moving forward, the College will enter into a respectful dialogue with the College community regarding any further amendments to the Enrolment Contract pertaining to our Christian ethos.”
The statement also claimed the school “deeply regret[s] that some students may feel that they were, or would be, discriminated against because of their sexuality or gender identity”.
Mulheran’s comment comes days after he released a statement doubling down on the school’s bigotry, insisting that these beliefs were not specific to his school but to all Christian schools. He’s right, of course — but not every school is forcing parents to sign their consent to the dehumanisation of trans and gay students.
Organiser of the viral petition and member of ‘Educate Don’t Discriminate’ Bethany Lau said that while she was glad that the enrolment contract was retracted, there’s still lots of work to be done.
“This is the first step to ensuring that our schools remain a safe space for all LGBTQI+ students,” she said in a statement provided to PEDESTRIAN.TV.
“Unfortunately the actions of Citipointe Christian College are indicative of a much broader issue.
“There are currently bills circulating parliament that aim to allow religious institutions to make decisions and statements around sexuality and gender identity that do not uphold the dignity and respect of LGBTQI+ people.”
Lau reminded people that while this move was cause for celebration, it doesn’t change the school’s values.
“Many students across the nation will be scared to return to school on Monday,” she said.
“This contract has traumatised students, parents and the community, and we recognise that there is a lot of work to do in supporting these people.”
If you’d like to talk about the issues raised in this story, you can call the QLife LGBTI peer support hotline on 1800 184 527 or chat online.
QLife operates between 3pm and midnight daily.
Under 25? You can reach Kids Helpline at 1800 55 1800 or chat online.
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