CV NEWS FEED // Parents in a Maryland school district cannot opt their children out of assignments that include reading “LGBTQ-inclusive texts,” a federal appeals court ruled on May 15.
According to Reuters, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that Montgomery County parents did not sufficiently demonstrate that assignments that include “LGBTQ-inclusive” books and characters infringe on religious freedom rights.
After the Montgomery County Board of Education in 2022 approved several books termed “LGBTQ-inclusive texts” for use in the pre-K through middle school English Language Arts curriculum, there were parents who asked for an opt-out policy.
According to the two judges, the books describe same-sex couples, transgender children, schools replacing bathroom signs with non-binary signs, pride parades, and more. In addition, the curriculum features responses that teachers can use when discussing such topics with children, including telling them that “Our body parts do not decide our gender. Our gender comes from our inside…”
Reuters reported that the parents originally were allowed to opt their children out of reading the books, but the curriculum became mandatory in the 2023-24 school year. The parents, represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, filed a lawsuit and initially lost in a lower court, after which they appealed to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
“The parents, who are Muslims, Christians and Jews, argued alongside the parental rights organization Kids First that by not providing an opt-out option, the board’s policy infringed their religious rights under the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment,” Reuters reported.
U.S. Circuit Judges G. Steven Agee and DeAndrea Benjamin said that no information was provided about how teachers were using the books or what the children were actually being taught. The lack of proof led them to rule against the parents, saying that it was impossible to establish that the books placed a “cognizable burden” on the parents or their children.
U.S. Circuit Judge A. Marvin Quattlebaum dissented, saying that denying the parents the ability to opt their children out based on religious grounds “burdened their First Amendment rights.”
Reuters reported that Eric Baxter, one of the lawyers at Becket, said that they will further appeal the case.
“The court just told thousands of Maryland parents they have no say in what their children are taught in public schools,” he said in a statement, according to Reuters.
