The Supreme Court will consider Tuesday whether parents can opt out of children reading LGBTQ books in classrooms that contradict family faith.
Parents in Montgomery County, Maryland claim that their children’s schools are violating religious freedom by not allowing them to opt out of lessons using books featuring LGBTQ storylines.
The controversy began in November 2022, when Montgomery County Public Schools introduced new LGBTQ books to their curriculum as part of the district’s “inclusiveness” initiative. According to Becket, the book “Champion Pride Parade, Gender Transition, Child Pronoun Preference,” which represents the parents’ case.
The district originally allowed the opt-out option, but announced in March 2023 that the option would not be granted and parents would not be notified before the book was introduced into children’s classrooms.
Parents ask the Supreme Court to take up the case to restore opt-out for guidance on gender and sexuality
The Supreme Court will consider whether parents can opt out of children reading LGBTQ books in classrooms on Tuesday. (Anna Money Maker/Getty Images)
The federal court of appeals ruled in May 2024 that parents could not select their children from reading books containing LGBTQ+ content at Montgomery County schools.
The US Supreme Court agreed to hear the case in January. Mahmoudv. Taylorduring the 2024-2025 period.
One of the plaintiffs in the case, Grace Morrison, is the mother of seven children living in Montgomery County. Her youngest child with Down syndrome and other special needs was attending public schools and headed to fourth grade when she realized the new school policy.
“We felt as parents that when we are ready to receive them, and that it’s even more difficult to understand children with special needs, as we always do,” Morrison told Fox News Digital in February.
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Grace Morrison is one of the parents petitioning the Supreme Court to rule that it is unconstitutional for Maryland school districts to prohibit parents from opting out. (Becquet/Getty Images)
Morrison told Fox News Digital that the book in question, including stories that present gender ideology issues, could be confusing and against their beliefs. Plaintiffs in this case include Muslim, Catholic and Ukrainian orthodox practitioners.
According to Beckett, Maryland’s Montgomery County Board of Education is one of the few school boards in the country that prohibits parental notifications and opt-outs regarding sexuality and gender instruction.
Beckett’s lawyer William Haun centered on the discussion before the Supreme Court over the First Amendment of Parents who are violated by the school’s policy, telling Fox News Digital that the freedom movement clause protects even public school children to opt out of instruction that hinders their children’s religious development.
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Kristine Parks from Fox News contributed to this report.
