A coalition of religious parents in Maryland has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to reinstate their right to opt their children out of educational content that promotes LGBT ideologies on gender and sexuality. The request follows a decision by the Montgomery County Board of Education to remove parental opt-outs for certain storybooks aimed at early education levels.
The legal dispute, Mahmoud v. Taylor, escalated after the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the school board’s policy, after which a diverse group of Muslim, Christian and Jewish parents initiated the lawsuit, said the legal firm Becket, which is representing the parents.
The policy pertains to storybooks introduced in 2022 for students from pre-K through fifth grade, which included content on gender transitioning, pride parades and pronoun preferences.
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According to Becket, these books contain materials deemed inappropriate by the parents for children as young as 3 and 4 years old.
The school board members have claimed they are concerned about the high number of student absenteeism and the perceived impracticality of managing a large number of opt-outs. Further, the school board has alleged it believes that allowing students to opt out will expose other students and families to “social stigma” if they feel the LGBT-themed books represented their lifestyle.
However, Grace Morrison, a board member of Kids First — an association advocating for parental rights in education — criticized the school board’s approach.
“The school board is pushing a controversial ideology that has been rejected by governments around the world and has even been criticized by the board’s own principals as inappropriate for the intended age group,” Becket quoted Morrison as saying.
Apart from the ideological disagreements, the books prompt young students to engage with topics that the parents find controversial. One book, for instance, encourages children to identify images associated with a wide array of sexuality and gender expressions, such as “intersex flag,” “drag queen,” “underwear,” “leather” and the name of a celebrated LGBT activist and sex worker.
“Parents know and love their children best; that’s why all kids deserve to have their parents help them understand issues like gender identity and sexuality,” Eric Baxter, vice president and senior counsel at Becket, earlier told The Christian Post. “The school board’s decision to cut parents out of these discussions flies in the face of parental freedom, childhood innocence, and basic human decency.”
U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman had denied the preliminary injunction sought by the parents, arguing that the parents had not demonstrated that the school district’s actions constituted indoctrination. According to Boardman, the activities surrounding these books in classrooms were intended to promote tolerance rather than indoctrinate.
Reacting to that decision, Baxter had stated at the time, “The court’s decision is an assault on children’s right to be guided by their parents on complex and sensitive issues regarding human sexuality. The School Board should let kids be kids and let parents decide how and when to best educate their own children consistent with their religious beliefs.”
Though not a litigant, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), has supported the parents’ cause.
