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Parents with students attending a Christian school in Florida have been asked to remove their children and find another school if their children are gay, transgender or non-binary. 

According to NBC News, an email was sent to parents by administrator and pastor Barry McKeen telling parents, “We believe that God created mankind in His image: male (man) and female (woman), sexually different but with equal dignity.”

“Therefore, one’s biological sex must be affirmed, and no attempts should be made to physically change, alter, or disagree with one’s biological gender — including, but not limited to, elective sex reassignment, transvestite, transgender, or non-binary gender fluid acts of conduct (Genesis 1:26-28). Students in school will be referred to by the gender on their birth certificate and be referenced in name in the same fashion.”

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“We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, transgender identity/ lifestyle, self-identification, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery and pornography are sinful in the sight of God and the church… Students who are found participating in these lifestyles will be asked to leave the school immediately,” McKeen added.

The school – Grace Christian School in Valrico, Florida, reportedly requires all students to begin every school day with pledges to the Christian flag, the Bible, and the flag of the United States.

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The school has since received backlash from parents and LGBTQ+ rights groups resulting in McKeen defending the private Christian school in a video statement saying, “It is our policy now, it will be our policy going forward … God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, he does not change.”

It is also reported that Grace Christian School has a similar policy for staff. Its code of conduct states that “homosexual conduct defined as acts or identifying statements” is reason for dismissal.

McKeen also defended the policy by saying that “almost every Christian” school in the state of Florida had the same approach and added that “only” one student had been asked to leave because of their LGBTQ+ identity before highlighting that he and his wife have “friends that are homosexuals.”

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