Supreme Court to Decide if Parents Can Opt Kids Out of Pride Storybooks
Muslims, Jews, Christians in Maryland head to Court to protect parental rights
WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court agreed today to decide whether parents can opt their children out of storybooks that push one-sided ideology on gender and sexuality. In Mahmoud v. Taylor, the Montgomery County, Maryland Board of Education took away parental notice and opt-outs for storybooks that celebrate gender transitioning, pride parades, and pronoun preferences with kids as young as three and four. Older students can opt out when similar topics are introduced during high school health class. Becket represents Muslim, Jewish, and Christian parents who challenged the ban on elementary school opt-outs in federal court in 2023 (Watch this short video to learn more).
The new “inclusivity” books were announced in 2022 for students in pre-K through fifth grade. Instead of focusing on basic principles of respect and kindness, however, the books champion controversial ideology around gender and sexuality. For example, 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 sex worker. Another book advocates a child-knows-best approach to gender transitioning, 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 School Board revoked notice and opt-outs for these storybooks in 2023, which violates Maryland law, the Board’s policies, and the advice of its own elementary school principals.
“The School Board has pushed inappropriate gender indoctrination on our children instead of focusing on the fundamental areas of education that they need to thrive,” said Grace Morrison, board member of Kids First, an association of parents and teachers advocating for notice and opt-outs in Montgomery County Schools. “I pray the Supreme Court will stop this injustice, allow parents to raise their children according to their faith, and restore common sense in Maryland once again.”
Soon after the School Board announced it would take away parental notice and opt-outs for the storybooks, a diverse coalition of religious parents, including Muslims, Christians, and Jews, sued the School Board in federal court. Despite faith differences, these parents believe the new storybooks are age-inappropriate, spiritually and emotionally damaging for their kids, and inconsistent with their beliefs. After a lower court upheld the opt-out ban, the parents appealed to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals but were denied again, with one judge dissenting. Last year, the parents asked the Supreme Court to restore their right to notice and opt-outs so they can help guide their children’s education in accordance with their beliefs—a result that, according to a recent poll, most Americans support.
“Cramming down controversial gender ideology on three-year-olds without their parents’ permission is an affront to our nation’s traditions, parental rights, and basic human decency,” said Eric Baxter, vice president and senior counsel at Becket. “The Court must make clear: parents, not the state, should be the ones deciding how and when to introduce their children to sensitive issues about gender and sexuality.”
The Court is expected to hear the case later this spring.
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- Supreme Court order granting review in Mahmoud v. Taylor (January 17, 2025)
- Supreme Court Petition for Certiorari in Mahmoud v. Taylor (September 12, 2024)
- Video: Why Are Religious Parents Fighting Back Against the Montgomery County Board of Education? (August 22, 2024)
- Case page for Mahmoud v. Taylor (All legal docs, press releases, background)
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Becket is a non-profit, public-interest law firm dedicated to protecting the free expression of all religious traditions and has a 100% win-rate before the United States Supreme Court. For 30 years, it has successfully defended clients of all faiths, including Buddhists, Christians, Jews, Hindus, Muslims, Native Americans, Sikhs, and Zoroastrians (read more here).