(Note the links to Part 1 and Part 2)
On Friday, the Supreme Court delivered its opinion in Mahmoud v. Taylor, a case dealing with the right of parents to opt their children out of various LGBT+ curricula for religious reasons.
A bit of background…
In 2022, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) introduced a number of LGBT-themed books into its ELA (English Language Arts) curriculum for students from pre-K through the 5th grade. Parents were initially allowed to have their kids opt out of lessons where these books were used, a practice consistent with MCPS’s “Guidelines for Respecting Religious Diversity.” In 2023, MCPS rescinded the option for students to opt out of classes featuring the LGBT-themed materials.
A group of parents filed suit stating that the Board’s no-opt-out policy unconstitutionally burdened their free expression of religion. Last Friday, the Court issued an opinion that found in favor of the parents and issued a preliminary injunction, remanding the case to the lower court for resolution.
Some of the Court’s findings I found interesting: