Christian Couple Sues Sunnyvale School District Over LGBTQ+ Curriculum
A Christian couple from the Bay Area has filed a lawsuit against the Sunnyvale School District. They claim that the district denied their request to opt out of classes on gender and gender identity, which they believe conflict with their religious beliefs.
Justin and Rose Taylor, active members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, insist that the school’s refusal to exempt their two elementary-aged children from lessons about gender reassignment and same-sex relationships stands in opposition to a Supreme Court ruling from the previous year. This ruling affirmed that parents can opt out of such content for religious reasons.
The case, known as Mahmoud v. Taylor, allowed a group of Muslim, Catholic, and Ukrainian Orthodox parents in Maryland to decline LGBTQ+ classes in public schools. However, the Taylors were informed in February that similar classes in Sunnyvale were considered “not optional,” as stated in their lawsuit filed in the Northern District of California.
“Our children are the most important people in our lives,” the couple expressed. “Since we know them best, we are the ones who should decide when and how they learn about sensitive topics like sexuality and gender.”
They also expressed a desire for Sunnyvale to acknowledge and respect parental roles in shaping their children’s moral upbringing.
In their legal complaint, the Taylors argue that the school district’s LGBTQ+ guidance goes beyond simply teaching kindness and respect. They believe it promotes “ideological views about gender and sexuality” that clash with their family values.
The district employs an LGBTQ+ instructional guide that encourages teachers to integrate lessons about sexuality and gender into various subjects, including math.
This educational guide, developed by the Santa Clara County Office of Education, instructs teachers to include “LGBTQ+ inclusion” in math problems and to highlight notable queer mathematicians through questions about “marriage equality, gender-neutral restrooms, and LGBTQ+ rights.”
One book that the Taylors find objectionable is “Pride Puppies,” which encourages very young children to identify images associated with Pride parades, such as terms like “intersex,” “drag king,” and “drag queen.”
Another book noted in the lawsuit, “The Hips on the Drag Queen Go Swish, Swish, Swish,” alters the lyrics of a well-known children’s song to celebrate drag queens.
The lawsuit includes multiple defendants, including the Sunnyvale School District, Superintendent Goodiel Crosthwaite, and several school board members.
The Taylors reached out to school officials via email in September 2025, asking for an exemption for their children from lessons on same-sex marriage, gender identity, and related topics.
In January 2026, the district’s Director of Student Support Services, Paul Slayton, responded, admitting some confusion about the district’s legal stance on opt-out requests. However, he later formalized a response asserting that the Supreme Court’s ruling does not invalidate California’s educational content requirements.
As a result, the Sunnyvale School District determined that there would be no opt-outs from the LGBTQ+-inclusive curriculum.
Michael O’Brien, the Taylors’ attorney, contended that the law should protect the parental rights of the Taylors and criticized Sunnyvale for not adhering to that standard.
After the Supreme Court’s Mahmoud decision, the Sunnyvale Board of Education implemented a resolution confirming its commitment to creating safe and inclusive schools, asserting that the dignity of LGBTQ+ students would not be compromised.
