SCOTUS: Parents can opt kids out of LGBTQ storybooks at school

The Supreme Court on Friday granted religious parents a preliminary injunction allowing them to pull their kids from LGBTQ storybook lessons in public schools. The court decided 6-3 for the parents in the case of Mahmoud v. Taylor, with Justice Samuel Alito writing the majority opinion. The injunction required the Montgomery County Board of Education in Maryland to notify parents of such lessons and allow them to have their children excused. Without an injunction, parents would suffer irreparable harm to their free exercise of religion, the court decided. Justice Sonia Sotomayor filed a dissenting opinion, in which fellow justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson joined.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon celebrated the ruling, calling it a win for religious liberty and parental rights.

What’s the case background? A mix of Christian, Muslim, and Jewish parents brought the lawsuit when their school board during the 2022-23 school year stopped allowing parents to opt their kids out of lessons based on LGBTQ storybooks. The board also encouraged teachers to reprimand children who disagreed with the material, according to court documents. The granted injunction gives the parents a reprieve while their case works its way through lower courts.

What did Sotomayor’s dissent say? She wrote that the storybooks weren’t intended to impose beliefs on children, but to reflect the reality of a diverse society. Everyday interactions in public schools expose children to other beliefs, and the court’s decision set a precedent for frequent lawsuits, censorship, and disruption of education, she said.

Dig deeper: Read Lauren Canterberry and Carolina Lumetta’s report on the recent SCOTUS decision about Planned Parenthood funding.