A Pennsylvania father filed a civil rights complaint with the Department of Education on Monday, accusing his school district of discriminating against him based on his Christian faith.
In the complaint, Chad Williams said that the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District had hampered his ability to protect his children from teachings “hostile” to their faith by stonewalling his search for answers about ideological programs the school offers. The district has come under scrutiny after it allowed a “genderqueer witch” to survey students on sexual matters without parental permission.
“The Unionville-Chadds Ford School District has an established pattern and practice of discriminating against Christian parents, including Mr. Williams, particularly those who question the District’s handling of issues regarding gender and sexuality,” the complaint says, according to a copy shared with The Daily Wire.
The complaint, which was filed by Pacific Justice Institute lawyer Janice Lorrah, says that the district has violated Williams’ right to due process, equal protection under the law, and has applied its policies in a discriminatory manner.
Williams has engaged in a years-long battle with the district, clashing on everything from masking policies, promotion of a Gay-Straight Alliance club without parental notification, and the administration of surveys asking high school freshmen about their sexual histories.
The complaint says that the district has denied Williams “fundamental parental rights to raise and nurture his children, including the right to protect his children from teachings hostile to his family’s Christian faith” by blocking him from accessing certain documents and denying him meetings with district officials.
Williams also alleged that he “observed a man peering through the windows of his family home” soon after he raised concerns with the district about school faculty hiding a student’s transgender identity from parents.
The complaint said the man who was looking around his home “was the spouse of one of the school counselors who documents show was involved in the subversive conduct, including hiding a student’s social transitioning, and pushing middle school children to participate in the GSA Club during school hours.”
Williams is “seeking a full, independent, and impartial investigation into the years-long and on-going discriminatory conduct of the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District, its administrators and members of its School Board,” according to the complaint.
The Department of Education confirmed it had received the complaint, and that the Office of Civil Rights for Philadelphia would look into it, according to communications viewed by The Daily Wire.
The complaint asks for disciplinary action for any school officials found to have broken the law and for federal funding to be cut if necessary.
Williams’ efforts to challenge the district at the state level have so far yielded few results and he hopes that the Trump administration will provide swift answers. He previously filed an educator misconduct complaint against Unionville-Chadds Ford School District Superintendent John Sanville but has not yet heard the result from any state official.
Sanville announced earlier this month that he would be stepping down from his position at the end of the year. That announcement comes amid criticism from parents with similar concerns as Williams, and a controversial new building project.