Supreme Court Hands Parents a Victory on Religious Freedom in Schools

The Supreme Court on Friday ruled in favor of a group of Maryland parents who challenged their local Board of Education’s decision to bar them from opting out of what they felt was objectionable curriculum for their elementary school-aged children featuring storybooks that address gender identity and sexual orientation.

The 6-3 decision was along ideological lines with the three liberal justices strenuously arguing against the conservative majority’s decision to allow parents to opt-out of instruction they find objectionable for religious reasons.

The court ordered the school board to notify parents in advance when one of the books at issue in the case will be used, and allow them to excuse or opt out of instruction related to the books.

“We reject this chilling vision of the power of the state to strip away the critical right of parents to guide the religious development of their children,” Alito added later in the opinion.

Liberal justice Sonia Sotomayor said in her dissent that “The result will be chaos for this nation’s public schools. Requiring schools to provide advance notice and the chance to opt out of every lesson plan or story time that might implicate a parent’s religious beliefs will impose impossible administrative burdens on schools.”

The case was brought by parents in Montgomery County, Maryland who objected to the elimination of the opt out policy which had been in effect since the books were first adopted in 2022 and dropped the following year.

The school system issued the following statement following the decision;

“This decision complicates our work creating a welcoming, inclusive, and equitable school system. It also sends a chilling message to many valued members of our diverse community,” the board and school district said in a joint statement. “Montgomery County Public Schools remains a welcoming and inclusive school system that embraces and celebrates each and every one of our students. We will maintain an environment where all students feel valued and supported.”

The Board of Education defended its decision to require the mandatory opt-in saying that the high number of absences had made the original policy “unworkable” and made it difficult for teachers to manage the high number of excused students and plan alternative activities for them.

Parents sent a loud and clear message to the school board that they didn’t want their children to be subjected to the storybooks in question. Rather than take that into account the school board decided that for their own convenience and that of the teachers that they would force students to be subjected to the material.

The decision doesn’t reduce inclusivity but stops the latest attempt by the liberals who control Montgomery County to indoctrinate students at a very young age.