Legal Issue(s): NA
Case Description
In fall 2022, the Montgomery County Board of Education (“Board”) announced over 20 new “inclusivity” books for its pre-K through eighth grade classrooms—books that champion pride parades, gender transitioning, and pronoun preferences for children. At the same time, the Board assured concerned parents they would be notified when the books were read and could opt out of their children. This meant parents troubled by the books’ blatant disregard for widely held religious beliefs would be respected. Everything changed in March 2023, when the Board issued a statement saying it would no longer notify parents or honor opt-out requests. A diverse coalition of religious parents including Muslims, Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox Christians, and others fought back alleging the Board had violating the parents’ inalienable and constitutionally protected right to control the religious upbringing of their children, especially on sensitive issues concerning family life and human sexuality. On May 15, 2024, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the parents with children enrolled at Montgomery County Public Schools have no right to be notified or opt their kids out of storybooks that push one-sided ideology regarding gender and human sexuality. The parents appealed the ruling to the U..S. Supreme Court. CLS, joined by First Liberty, Focus on the Family, and the National Association of Evangelicals, submitted an amicus brief in support of the parents’ cert. petition request to the U.S. Supreme Court.
