Parents can’t opt K-5 children out of LGBTQ curriculum: appeals court

Maryland’s largest school district does not have to allow parents to deny their kindergarten through fifth-grade children lessons or books that cover LGBTQ topics such as sexuality and gender, at least for now, a federal appeals court has ruled. handed down the verdict Wednesday.

The 2-1 decision by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that parents failed to demonstrate how a policy initiated by the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Board violated their policies. It upheld a lower court’s decision denying the injunction. A child’s First Amendment right to the free exercise of religion.

Parents had argued that refusing to allow their children to opt out of LGBT-themed books and related discussions violates federal and state law.

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Book titles include “The Pride Puppy,” “Uncle Bobby’s Wedding,” and “Born Ready: The True Story of a Boy Named Penelope.”

Parents say these books violate religious obligations to train children according to their faith in “the meaning of manhood and womanhood, the institution of marriage, human sexuality, and related topics.” he claimed.

The three parties to the lawsuit, Muslim, Jewish and Christian parents, and parent rights groups say they, not schools, should be responsible for what children learn.

However, courts have held that exposure alone to ideas contrary to one’s faith is not sufficiently burdensome to engage the First Amendment, and that exposure to issues with which parents disagree, even for religious reasons, “It is part of the compromise that is being made.” “They chose to send their children to public schools,” the ruling states.

“Once parents have had the opportunity to produce a record of the circumstances surrounding the board’s decision and how the documents in question are actually used, it is unlikely that parents will be able to substantiate any of their various theories.” “We have not given any thought to whether we can present sufficient evidence to I 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 do not wish to proceed with a preliminary injunction. We have no choice but to affirm the district court’s order denying the suspension order.”

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An Islamic activist speaks at a Montgomery County Public Schools Board of Education meeting on June 27, 2023. (Fox News Digital)

U.S. Circuit Judge A. Marvin Quattlebaum Jr., appointed by former President Trump, disagreed, saying the parents had failed to prove that they were burdening their First Amendment rights. He wrote that he disagreed with the district court’s motion.

“Parents believe that the board’s decision to refuse to opt out of religion forces them to choose between compromising their religious beliefs and opting out of public education, allowing them to exercise their religion and direct their children’s religious education. “The children have shown themselves to be a burden on their parents’ rights to protect their children,” Quattlebaum wrote.

“We also found that, at least under this record, the Board’s actions were neither neutral nor generally applicable.Finally, we found that the parents established other requirements for a preliminary injunction. Therefore, I am reversing the district court and enjoining the Montgomery Court to deny the county school board a religious opt-out in the instruction of kindergarten through fifth grade students related to the text. refused. ”

Eric Baxter, senior counsel and vice president of the Beckett Fund for Religious Freedom, which represents the parents, said: Fox 5 DC The group is disappointed with the decision and says the theme is inappropriate for students.

“They involve issues around sexuality that are simply too mature for such young children,” Mr Baxter said.

Baxter told The Hill he plans to appeal the sentence.

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

MCPS, Maryland’s wealthiest school district, announced an initiative to include an LGBTQ-inclusive reading list as part of its English language arts curriculum in 2022. The decision sparked several rallies calling for the district to reinstate its opt-out policy.

In June, a large group of parents in Rockville, Maryland, protested to block Montgomery County schools from publishing books featuring LGBTQ characters. (Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

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Bethany Mandel, a mother and Deseret News contributor, told “Fox & Friends First” last year that she uses her own judgment to tackle controversial topics such as sexuality and gender ideology with her children. He said he believes it is a parent’s right to have children.

“Some of the books were read-aloud books for first, second and third graders about transgender ideology and sexuality,” Mandel told Carly Shimkus. “Some of the parents who spoke in favor of banning opt-outs said… ‘I’m gay, but the book didn’t make me gay…and with this protection, your No one is claiming that a child can’t go through that, that they can function in some kind of outside world.

“No one thinks that just reading a book can make kids gay. What we’re saying is that kids learn about this kind of tricky and troubling subject matter from their parents. That’s what’s best and that parents should have the right to decide what happens to their children.”This is the first time I’ve heard this,” she continued.

FOX News’ Bailey Hill, Bradford Betts and Lindsey Cornick contributed to this report.