Court rejects parents’ attempt to opt kids out of LGBTQ-inclusive reading assignments

A federal appeals court has rejected a bid by a Maryland parent group to ask Montgomery County Public Schools to allow children to opt out of classes that include LGBTQ content.

A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals asked parents how their national school board’s library policy violates their children’s right to free expression. The court upheld a lower court’s decision denying the preliminary injunction, saying the case had not yet been proven. religion.

Three groups of Muslim, Jewish and Christian parents and parent rights groups say Maryland school districts will no longer allow parents to opt their children out of newly approved LGBTQ-inclusive classes. In response to the announcement, the school sued a Maryland school district. A comprehensive book.

Parents said the books were “contrary to their sincerely held religious beliefs about marriage, human sexuality, and gender,” and that the lack of an opt-out policy discouraged their children from freely exercising their religion. They argued that it violated their First Amendment rights.

U.S. Circuit Judge G. Stephen Agee, speaking for the majority, wrote that there is sufficient evidence to assess how the books were used in the classroom and, therefore, the likelihood of success in the lawsuit. He said there was no evidence on record.

“Once parents have had the opportunity to develop a record of the circumstances surrounding the board’s decision and how the sentences in question are used in practice, it is important to note that parents can support any of their various theories.” “We have no idea whether we can present sufficient evidence to do so,” Agee, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, wrote.

“However, at this early stage, given the extensive claims of the parents, the very high burden required to obtain a preliminary injunction, and the poor record before us, we are reluctant to seek a preliminary injunction. “We are forced to affirm the district court’s order denying the cease and desist order,” he continued. , the opinion was joined by U.S. Circuit Judge DeAndrea Benjamin, who was appointed by President Biden.

U.S. Circuit Judge A. Marvin Quattlebaum Jr., an appointee of former President Trump, dissented, arguing that the commission violated parents’ rights to influence their children’s religious education.

Eric Baxter, vice president and senior counsel for the Beckett Fund for Religious Freedom, who represents the parents, said in an emailed statement to The Hill that they will appeal the ruling Wednesday. promised.

“The court just told thousands of Maryland parents that they have no say in what their children are taught in public schools,” Baxter said in a statement. “This violates the First Amendment, Maryland law, the school board’s own policies, and basic human decency.”

“Parents should have the right to inform and exclude their children from lesson content that is contrary to their beliefs. We will appeal this judgment,” he added.

In August 2023, U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman ruled that the parents were unlikely to succeed on the merits and denied the parents’ request to keep the policy in place while the lawsuit progressed. She found they had failed to show that the lack of an opt-out policy resulted in “brainwashing of children” or “forcing children to violate or change their religious beliefs.”

“Parents may still teach their children religious beliefs about sexuality, marriage, and gender, and families may still place opposing views in a religious context,” Boardman wrote in last year’s order. said.

“No government action will prevent parents from freely discussing the themes covered in picture books with their children and teaching their children as they wish,” she added.