WASHINGTON – Religious parents in one of the nation’s most liberal counties are clashing with public school officials over whether elementary students should be allowed to opt out of reading books with LGBTQ+ characters, the latest culture war battle being waged inside the classroom.
Three sets of parents and an advocacy group representing other families are asking a federal court in Maryland to suspend the policy – opening a new legal front at a time when schools are grappling with rules for transgender students and education has become a political flashpoint.
The parents object to a book titled “Pride Puppy,” for instance, that tells the story of children who chase their dog through a pride parade. Another, “Prince and Knight,” features a romance between two male characters. “Born Ready” is about a boy coming to terms with his gender identity.
Parents vs. schools: Who decides curriculum?
In the lawsuit, Mahmoud v. McKnight, the parents say that by denying the ability to opt out of engaging with the books, Montgomery County schools outside of Washington, D.C., are infringing on their religious beliefs. Touching on an argument that has become a conservative rallying cry, they say the policy also interferes with their ability to raise their children.
“There’s no question that the school board is trying to enforce a certain viewpoint,” Eric Baxter, an attorney with the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which is representing the parents, told a judge Wednesday.
The parents aren’t challenging the use of the books, only their inability to opt out.
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But the school district says it has an interest in creating inclusive classrooms and that simply exposing students to the material doesn’t stop parents from raising their children however they choose at home. The First Amendment’s protection of religion, school officials say, doesn’t give parents veto power over the curriculum.
District officials also told the court that they cannot accommodate all of the opt-out requests without causing disruptions.
“This is about making a curriculum modestly more representative of the community,” Alan Schoenfeld, the lawyer for the school, told the court.
U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman, appointed by President Joe Biden, indicated after oral arguments Wednesday that she would rule on the parents’ request before students return to school later this month.
Big picture: A shift in favor of religious freedom
The suit is one several playing out in courts across the country that deal with the intersection of religious freedom and LGBTQ+ rights at school.
A federal appeals court in Chicago this year sided with an Indiana school district that pushed a music teacher to resign after he refused to use transgender students’ pronouns, in part citing his religious beliefs. That case is still pending.
The potential for discrimination is a central component of a lawsuit filed in an Oklahoma court this summer challenging what would be the nation’s first religious charter school. Opponents fear the school, St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, would refuse LGBTQ+ students despite being funded by taxpayers.
The Supreme Court has increasingly sided with religion over LGBTQ+ rights in recent years. In one high-profile example in June, the high court backed a graphic artist who will decline to design wedding websites for same-sex marriages. In 2021, a unanimous court ruled that a Catholic foster care agency in Philadelphia could turn away gay and lesbian couples as clients.
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