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The U.S. Supreme Court has decided on a landmark case that redefines the boundaries between the public school education system, LGBTQ lessons, and parental rights.
The high court ruled Friday that Maryland parents can pull their children from public school lessons that use LGBTQ storybooks.
In a 6-3 vote, the justices reversed lower-court rulings that had been in favor of the Montgomery County school system. Now, schools can no longer require elementary school children to sit through lessons involving books on those subjects if parents have expressed religious objections to the material.
Although the decision is not a final ruling, the justices strongly suggested that parents are likely to succeed in their claim that the policy of not allowing opt-outs unconstitutionally burdens the exercise of their religion.
The majority stated the parents are “entitled to a preliminary injunction.”
“We have long recognized,” Justice Samuel Alito writes in his opinion, “the rights of parents to direct ‘the religious upbringing’ of their children. And we have held that those rights are violated by government policies that substantially interfere with the religious development of children.”
Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote the dissent with Justices Elena Kagan and Katanji Brown Jackson joining her.
Sotomayor pointed to the 1987 opinion in Edwards v. Aguillard as she described public schools as “the symbol of our democracy and the most pervasive means for promoting our common destiny.”
“They offer to children of all faiths and backgrounds an education and an opportunity to practice living in our multicultural society. That experience is critical to our Nation’s civic vitality,” she wrote.
Sotomayor argues, that the idea will become a “mere memory if children must be insulated from exposure to ideas and concepts that may conflict with their parents’ religious beliefs.”
As CBN News has reported, Mahmoud v. Taylor has garnered national attention, as it is set to establish new legal standards on what public schools can teach and how much power parents will wield in determining what is taught.
Battle for Parental Rights in Montgomery County
The case began in 2022 when the Montgomery County Board of Education approved LGBTQ-themed storybooks for use in preschool and elementary classrooms.
The approved titles included stories such as My Rainbow, a story about a Black transgender girl; Uncle Bobby’s Wedding, a story about a young girl who learns about her uncle marrying another man; and Pride Puppy, which follows a family and their dog at a Pride Parade.
One book tasks three and four-year-olds to search for images from a word list that includes “intersex flag,” “drag queen,” “underwear,” “leather,” and the name of a celebrated LGBTQ activist and prostitute.
Another book advocates a child-knows-best approach to gender dysphoria, telling students that a decision to transition doesn’t have to “make sense.” Teachers are instructed to say doctors only “guess” when identifying a newborn’s sex anyway.
The public school system initially allowed parents to opt their children out of lessons that included the reading of such material. But they later reversed their decision insisting the books were not part of sex education and only promoted diversity and inclusion.
The move prompted protests and eventually a lawsuits.
A group of parents, representing various faiths including Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, challenged the school district’s decision.
They asserted that the books not only conflicted with their religious beliefs but added the district violated their constitutional rights by eliminating the option to opt their children out of the lessons.
“I am fighting for all our religious parents,” parent Phillip Alexander Downie said.
“I’m here to tell you my 7-year-old daughter, she’s not ready for this,” one parent said during a protest against the district.
“Montgomery County is pushing inappropriate gender theory on our children all while neglecting the core education they need to succeed,” said Grace Morrison, board member of Kids First, an association of parents and teachers advocating for notice and opt-outs in Montgomery County Schools.
Attorneys representing the parents argued that schools routinely accommodate students’ absences or adjustments on lessons for several reasons.
“Petitioners deserve complete preliminary relief in a system where students are daily opted in and out of the class for multiple reasons,” Eric Baxter previously told CBN News.
However, the school district contended that allowing opt-outs based on religious objections would create logistical chaos and undermine “inclusive” education.
“A constitutional requirement to provide opt-out for anything someone finds religiously offensive means public schools must find alternative classrooms, supervision for young students, and substitute lessons each time a topic arises,” argued Alan Evan Schoenfeld, attorney for Montgomery County Schools.
During arguments in April, a lawyer for the school district told the justices that the “opt-outs” had become disruptive. Sex education is the only area of instruction in Montgomery schools that students can be excused from, Schoenfeld said.
Baxter called Friday’s ruling a “historic victory for parental rights.”
“Kids shouldn’t be forced into conversations about drag queens, pride parades, or gender transitions without their parents’ permission. Today, the Court restored common sense and made clear that parents—not government—have the final say in how their children are raised,” he wrote in a statement.
Liberty Counsel filed an amicus brief in the case and also celebrated the ruling.
“This U.S. Supreme Court has once again upheld that parents have the right to direct the education and provide for the welfare of their children,” said Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver. “The First Amendment simply does not allow government schools to require families to sacrifice their religious beliefs for their children to attend school. Parents in all states should be given adequate opportunity to review any instructional material and must be given the ability to opt their children out of instruction that violates their faith.”
Parents’ rights groups are also applauding the decision.
“We thank the Lord for His faithfulness, for raising up voices of truth and justice, and for moving in the hearts of the judges to uphold righteousness. This moment is a reminder that when we stand firm in faith and pursue justice, God goes before us. This ruling is more than just a legal win, it is a moral and spiritual triumph that acknowledges the sacred responsibility entrusted to parents,” said Billy Moges, director of Kids First.
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