A Marine veteran and mother of five, Tessa Bulzan, is taking legal action against an Oregon school district. She claims the district refused to reimburse her for academic curriculum because the materials reflected a Christian perspective.
Bulzan joined Hillsboro School District’s homeschool partnership program in July 2025 after leaving a lucrative job. She made this decision following an incident at her children’s school that conflicted with her moral and biblical beliefs. While the district initially approved her Christian curriculum as meeting academic standards, they later denied reimbursement.
There was an incident where a teacher said something against our moral and biblical beliefs, and it was so convicting and, after a lot of prayer, my husband and I decided that I would quit my six-figure job and I would become a stay-at-home mother and start homeschooling our children,
Bulzan explained her choice to Fox News Digital, noting that leaving her job was the best decision for her family. Joining the district’s homeschool program seemed like a perfect solution since homeschooling costs were high and her husband earned under $50,000 at his new job. The program initially accepted the family’s Christian curriculum, including materials from Abeka and Classical Conversations.
However, Bulzan was later denied reimbursement for these materials in January because of their Christian authorship. She had planned to use the reimbursement money for extracurricular activities and additional educational resources.
Bulzan recounted questioning an administrator on the denial. The administrator admitted there was no comparable alternative at the same academic level but stated the materials couldn’t be funded due to the author’s biblical worldview and scriptural references.
Bulzan believed this constituted discrimination. Initially approved for their academic standards, core subjects like math, writing, and grammar were later rejected for reimbursement due to their Christian content.
After further investigation, Bulzan felt singled out as a Christian. She noted that other materials with secular beliefs were reimbursed, yet her Christian grammar book was not accepted because it referenced God.
In response, attorneys from the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) filed a lawsuit in federal court against the Hillsboro School District.
According to ADF attorney Kate Anderson, the case is straightforward religious discrimination, which the Supreme Court and the Constitution do not support. Programs offering public benefits like funding should not exclude religious content or curriculum, Anderson stated.
A spokesperson for the Hillsboro School District declined to comment on the ongoing litigation.
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