Moody Bible Institute has reached a legal settlement with the Chicago Board of Education. The Moody Bible Institute CPS settlement lets education students complete student-teaching placements in Chicago Public Schools (CPS). The deal ends months of conflict, and it resets the partnership rules.
The agreement followed a four-month legal dispute between the evangelical college and CPS. Alliance Defending Freedom, which represents Moody, said CPS revised its Student Teacher Internship Agreement. The revision aims to respect Moody’s religious convictions and expectations for students.
Lawsuit alleged religious discrimination
The conflict began in November, when Moody sued the Chicago Board of Education. Moody said CPS barred its students from the student-teaching program because of the school’s religious policies. The lawsuit framed the dispute as religious discrimination, and it challenged CPS’s terms.
Moody, founded in 1886 by evangelist Dwight L. Moody, requires students and staff to follow historic evangelical beliefs and practices. The complaint said CPS demanded nondiscrimination commitments that Moody viewed as conflicting with those convictions. CPS officials reportedly cited a rule that participating colleges cannot discriminate based on religion, gender identity or expression, or sexual orientation.
Approval dispute and program design concerns
Moody’s Elementary Education program gained approval from the Illinois State Board of Education in January 2024. But the lawsuit said CPS still blocked Moody students from entering the district’s student-teacher program. Moody argued the CPS policy violated constitutional protections and state religious-freedom safeguards.
Moody also said CPS requirements interfered with the design of its education program. The program includes mandatory observation hours in public classrooms and Christian school classrooms, so placement access matters. The legal agreement now changes the practical path for those observation and internship requirements.
Political attention and reactions
The dispute drew the attention of Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., who contacted CPS Interim Superintendent Macquline King in December. Walberg called the allegations “deeply troubling,” and he warned that CPS seemed to pressure Moody to change biblical positions on sexuality.
Supporters of the settlement say it protects religious convictions while restoring student-teaching access. Detractors worry the revised terms could weaken nondiscrimination expectations inside public-school partnerships.
Source:
Moody Bible Institute Reaches Settlement With Chicago Schools Over Student-Teacher Access
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