Scotch College chair clarifies school’s position after Presbyterian Church gay discrimination

The head of a top Melbourne private school has tried to distance the college from the Presbyterian Church after continued fallout from a gay leadership ban.

Scotch College in Hawthorn. Picture: Julian Smith

The chairman of the Scotch College council has been forced to clarify the school’s opposition to discrimination amid the continued fallout from the Herald Sun’s story about the views of the Presbyterian Church.

Scotch College is affiliated to the Presbyterian Church, whose national leaders said students who were “actively” gay or having unmarried sex should not hold school leadership positions.

Scotch College Council chair Alex Sloan, whose position last year came under pressure from former students, initially wrote to the school community saying it should “take stock” about the school’s values.

In a letter questioned by one old scholar as “meaningless” and “gibberish”, Mr Sloan said: “What I would say, though, is that as the times potentially become more turbulent, the more important it is to assess that our responses are consistent with the ethos and values that have served us so well to date, while keeping pace with our evolving world.”

Mr Sloan’s new letter, sent on Sunday, was more direct.

In part it read: “I acknowledge that the letter did not adequately convey the School’s position. There are two points on which I would like to make sure the School’s position is clear. First, the School is governed by the School Council, not the Presbyterian Church.”

“Second, we do not tolerate discrimination towards our staff or students, including on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital or relationship status, or pregnancy.

“We nurture and care for each individual and encourage them to take leadership positions without discrimination.

“Our values of respect and inclusion have been, and will remain, at the heart of everything we do,” Mr Sloan wrote.

The Presbyterian Church argues gay or sexually active students would “not be able to give appropriate Christian leadership in a Christian school which requires modelling of Christian living”.

The church also wants to retain the right to discriminate against staff who are unmarried, gay or gender diverse if they do not “live out the whole Christian faith consistently”.

The Herald Sun previously reported a second school at the centre of claims that “actively” gay and unmarried sexually active students should not be school captains has restated a commitment to its “Christian ethos”.

Presbyterian Ladies’ College (PLC) is affiliated to the Presbyterian Church, and has responded to controversial comments made in a submission of the church’s national body.

In a federal submission, the church said students and staff who are unmarried, gay or gender diverse should be discriminated against if they do “live out the whole Christian faith consistently”.

PLC College council chair Reverend Mark Chew told the school community the school was “strongly committed to its Christian ethos”.

“PLC maintains its priority to providing a safe and inclusive environment for all within its community which reflects the imprint of God’s grace for all students and staff. It is a place where all are encouraged to grow into the full measure of God’s love and purpose as individuals created in the image of God, loved by God, infinitely valued and worthy of dignity,” Reverend Chew wrote.

“Consequently, every student is nurtured and encouraged to serve and take on positions of leadership without discrimination as to where they are on their personal journey. PLC seeks to provide care to every member of our community by respectfully dealing with personal matters in a confidential manner.

Presbyterian Ladies College wants to keep the right to discriminate against gay students.

It comes as the chairman of another school affiliated to the Presbyterian Church, Scotch College, said it was “timely to take stock” about the school’s values, after it was revealed their governing church believes gay or sexually active students should not be school captains.

On Friday Scotch College responded to a Herald Sun report which revealed the Presbyterian Church had told a discrimination review students who are “actively” gay or having unmarried straight sex should not be given leadership positions.

“Seeking contemporary ways to reinforce this ethos and set of values, while not losing sight of our many fine traditions, is the constant and invigorating goal of our talented teaching staff,” Scotch College Chairman Alex Sloan said in a statement issued to the school community.

“At an individual level staff are encouraged and supported to seek new personal development opportunities, which can be incorporated back into our pedagogical approach.

“In the end it is the daily example shown by our staff that ensures our Christian ethos and principles continue to thrive.

“I would not like this assessment of our situation to be perceived as complacent; we cannot rest on our laurels.

“What I would say, though, is that as the times potentially become more turbulent, the more important it is to assess that our responses are consistent with the ethos and values that have served us so well to date, while keeping pace with our evolving world.”

The Presbyterian Church argues gay or sexually active students would “not be able to give appropriate Christian leadership in a Christian school which requires modelling of Christian living”.

The church also wants to retain the right to discriminate against staff who are unmarried, gay or gender diverse if they do not “live out the whole Christian faith consistently”.

The views are expressed in a submission to the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC), which is seeking feedback on proposed changes to federal laws which would limit the ability of religious schools to discriminate based on their faith.

Mr Sloane said Scotch College had values of “respect, tolerance and inclusion”.

“In a world of turbulence and change it is important for all of us to challenge ourselves on our attitudes and opinions concerning society and its values,” he said.

“We are living through a time of unprecedented rapid change on multiple fronts, sociological, geopolitical and technological, and these changes are confronting us daily.

The Presbyterian Church only wants student who align to its values to hold school leadership positions.

“With some regularity these days we see organisations, in disparate sectors, being put to the test about what they stand for in our community and the values they hold. Certainly education is far from immune to this scrutiny and it is timely for the Scotch community to take stock.

“Through teaching based on a Christian ethos and principles, our School aspires to reflect a

community that embraces boys from families of all faiths, backgrounds and countries.

“We encourage each boy to understand, respect and appreciate the needs and views of others, and to forge lasting friendships across social and cultural boundaries.

“In these changing times the School continues to reflect values of respect, tolerance and inclusion that have underpinned its culture for more than 170 years.”

The heads of the Presbyterian, Catholic, Jewish, Islamic and Seventh-Day Adventist faiths have all made submissions supporting the right of religious schools to discriminate against students and staff on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital or relationship status or pregnancy.

There are more than 300,000 Victorian students in private schools run by these religious bodies across the state and more than a million across Australia.

They include De La Salle College, Genazzano College, Loreto Mandeville College, Marcellin College, St Kevin’s College, Heritage College, Gilson College, Catholic Ladies’ College Eltham, Assumption College, Belgrave Heights Christian School and the Islamic College of Melbourne.

It is the first time churches and schools have formally detailed how they should be able to discriminate on a day-to-day basis.

Many of the country’s peak church bodies also say they should be able to deny employment to gay, transitioning, gender diverse and even unmarried sexually active staff who do not model their religious values.

The heads of several church groups have made submissions supporting the right of religious schools to discriminate against students. Picture: supplied

The organisations want to challenge state legislation which offers protection to students from discrimination by religious schools.

The Presbyterian Church of Australia is arguing for the right to teach that a marriage “is a lifelong and exclusive union between a man and a woman and the only proper setting for sexual activity” and that only biological sex created by God as male or female determines a person’s gender identity.

This view comes despite schools such as Scotch College and Presbyterian Ladies’ College espousing inclusion, diversity and anti-discrimination policies governing enrolment and employment.

Some submissions to the ALRC from church bodies also warn changes to federal laws could compromise schools’ ability to offer sex-specific uniforms, bathrooms, change rooms and accommodation.

The Heads of independent Schools Australia said this could include the right of schools to maintain their single-sex status and reject enrolments from students from the opposite sex.

“Could such enrolments leave the schools open to vexatious litigation if they then decline an application from a cisgender student of the opposite sex to the school’s advertised single-sex status?” their submission states.

Asked about their submission, Catholic Education Commission of Victoria director Jim Miles said Catholic schools “should have the ability to employ and teach according to their faith, while operating with deep care and respect for all students and staff”.

“These values and beliefs are not ‘add-ons’,” he said.

A spokesman for Al-Taqwa College, a Muslim school in Truganina, said faith-based schools “need freedom to work with staff and students who share and respect their religious and moral values, and with families who look to select schools for their children compatible with their own religious and moral beliefs”.

Equality Australia’s legal director Ghassan Kassisieh said the idea that gay students or a child in a sexual relationship could not be captains “belongs in the 1950s”.

“Schools that would deny a student any opportunity simply because of their sexuality, gender or marital status are out of step with community attitudes, and the law should say so,” he said.

Leaders from the Uniting, Anglican and Lutheran churches are more open to proposed changes put forward by the ALRC.

The ALRC’s final report is due to be handed down to the federal Attorney-General on April 23.