Association of Christian Schools International

The Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI), founded in 1978, is an international organization of evangelical Christian schools. Its headquarters are in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

History
ACSI was founded in 1978 through the merger of three associations: The National Christian School Education Association; The Ohio Association of Christian Schools; and the Western Association of Christian Schools. Various international schools have joined the network. In 2023, it had 25,000 schools in 100 countries.

Governance
The governance of the organization is ensured by a President and Regional Presidents in the 5 Continental Regions Members.

Affiliations
The organization is a member of the World Evangelical Alliance.

Controversies
The association was accused of racism in 1987, while the board consisted of 29 white people and no racial minorities. In the 21st century right wing commentators have accused it of being woke because of its support for diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Lawsuit
In spring 2006, the Association of Christian Schools International sued the University of California system alleging that the rejection of several Christian science courses was "viewpoint discrimination" which violated the constitutional rights of applicants from Christian schools whose high school coursework is deemed inadequate preparation for college. The lawsuit was brought by the parents of six children who had not been rejected from the university. In August 2006, the case Association of Christian Schools International v. Roman Stearns was allowed to proceed against the university while lawsuits against individual school officials were thrown out.

The National Center for Science Education noted, "One of the lawyers representing the plaintiffs is Wendell Bird, a former staff attorney for the Institute for Creation Research. As a special assistant attorney general for Louisiana, he defended the state's "equal time" law, which was ruled to be unconstitutional in Edwards v. Aguillard. The National Center for Science Education works in collaboration with National Academy of Sciences, the National Association of Biology Teachers and the National Science Teachers Association, which consider creationism and intelligent design to be pseudoscience.

The Association retained leading intelligent design proponent Michael Behe to testify in the case as an expert witness. Behe's expert witness report claimed that the Christian textbooks were excellent works for high school students and he defended that view in a deposition.

On March 28, 2008 the defendants won a legal victory when their motion for partial summary judgment was granted, and the plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment was denied. On August 8, 2008, Judge Otero entered summary judgment against plaintiff ACSI.