Not in my classroom: Dutch schools may ban gay teachers

A leaked recommendation by the government's highest advisory council says state-funded schools should be allowed to exclude teachers for being homosexual.

Overall, the Netherlands is a good place to be homosexual. Same-sex marriage has been legal since 2001, gay couples can adopt children, and despite some violent incidents against homosexuals in Amsterdam, the city is still widely known for its gay-friendly atmosphere.

Being an openly gay teacher, however, is still a sensitive subject, especially in schools that use the bible as their foundation. Although private schools do exist in the Netherlands, the overwhelming majority of religious schools are state-funded in the same way as non-denominational schools.

Ronald Plasterk, the Dutch minister for education for the Labour party, sent a letter to high schools and primary schools in April saying that Christian beliefs are no ground to exclude gay staff. Earlier that month, a teacher in the central Netherlands village of Emst had been suspended after he told co-workers he had met a man he wanted to be with. The school board said the teacher's sexual orientation conflicted with the school’s foundation and mission.

Pass on values

Plasterk clashed with Christian coalition partners over the Emst incident, and was told to wait for a recommendation by the Council of State. Its report was leaked this week to Nederlands Dagblad, a newspaper with a Christian point of view.

The Council of State, the highest advisory body to the Dutch government, says religious schools can exclude gay teachers if they behave in ways that go against what the institution stands for, even if it’s outside the classroom. According to the advisory paper, schools are not allowed to discriminate, but they do have a right to make specific demands of their staff. European guidelines entitle schools to "demand explicit loyalty from their staff" to pass on their values, the council says. Those demands have to be directly related to the foundations of the school or other religious institutions.

The current anti-discrimination law in the Netherlands states that even religious schools are not allowed to let the "single fact" of someone's sexual preference, race or gender be a factor in the hiring or firing process. But the law leaves room for so-called "additional behaviour" to be factored in. A teacher could be dismissed for "a certain lifestyle" that goes against what the institution stands for; a relationship with someone of the same sex could be qualified as such.

The Council suggests scrapping the "single fact" from the anti-discrimination law and allow institutions to make distinctions on the grounds of "additional circumstances". The boundary between distinction and discrimination is a grey area.

The three government coalition parties - Christian democrats, Labour and the orthodox ChristenUnie - asked the Council of State for advice late last year because they were unable to agree on whether the law regarding discrimination against homosexuals needed amending.

Jobs at non-denominational schools

Education minister Plasterk's Labour party is now concerned about the council's advice and has reiterated that there can be no discrimination against homosexuals, whether it is for "being gay" or for "acting gay”.

While Labour, the left-wing liberal party D66 and the gay rights organisation COC have condemned the – yet to be officially released - recommendation, religious school organisations have applauded it.

Wim Kuiper, director of the association for Christian education, is "forcefully recommending cabinet to follow the advise". He says orthodox schools should be allowed to refuse to employ people who are gay as well as (straight) couples who live together without being married because their "lifestyle does not square with the bible". But he added that only about a hundred of the 2,200 Christian schools abide by that principle. "The Christian mainstream has employed gay teachers for a long time."

Yusuf Altuntas, who represents an umbrella organisation for Islamic schools, announced it is "happy there is finally clarity" on the issue. He says gay teachers can draw their own conclusions. "Judaism, Christianity and Islam disapprove of acting gay (...) If that is what you are, apply at a different school. There are plenty of jobs at non-denominational schools."