The U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority appeared sympathetic Tuesday to religious parents objecting to LGBTQ-inclusive storybooks in Maryland’s Montgomery County Public Schools. At the heart of Mahmoud v. Taylor is the question: should parents have the right to opt their children out of lessons featuring queer characters? Initially, parents were allowed to opt out when books about same-sex marriage and drag queens were introduced in 2022.
But the district halted that policy in 2023, citing concerns about isolating LGBTQ students and violating anti-discrimination laws. Now, parents from various faiths—Islam, Roman Catholicism, and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church—are asking the nation’s highest court to reinstate those opt-outs. And during over two hours of oral arguments, the court’s six conservative justices showed strong support.
Justice Samuel Alito asked, “What is the big deal about allowing them to opt out of this?”
Chief Justice Roberts and Alito questioned the “moral messaging” of books like Uncle Bobby’s Wedding, which features a same-sex couple. But liberal justices saw deeper concerns. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson warned that granting broad opt-out rights could prevent queer teachers from even mentioning their spouses, while Justice Sotomayor asked whether parents might soon object to books about magic, evolution, or even working women.
A decision is expected by summer, and it could either narrowly favor religious parents in this case or set a sweeping precedent for public schools nationwide.
