US Supreme Court allows parents to opt out of lessons with LGBT books

The US Supreme Court has sided with parents in the state of Maryland who wanted to opt their children out of reading books with LGBTQ themes.

The justices voted 6-3 in support of the group of parents who said a curriculum adopted in 2022 by the Montgomery County Public Schools for elementary age children violated their religious rights.

The court's majority said the parents who brought the case are entitled to a preliminary injunction while it proceeds.

The introduction of the books "along with its decision to withhold opt-outs, places an unconstitutional burden on the parents' rights to the free exercise of their religion", Justice Samuel Alito wrote.

The ruling allowed the preliminary relief, arguing the parents showed their case is likely to succeed on its merits, they are likely to suffer irreparable harm in its absence and that an injunction would be in the public interest.

The three liberal justices dissented.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in her dissenting opinion that the result of the case will be "chaos for this nation's public schools".

"Given the great diversity of religious beliefs in this country, countless interactions that occur every day in public schools might expose children to messages that conflict with a parents' beliefs," she added.

The parents involved represent several different faiths, but all oppose their children being introduced to LGBTQ themes.

The US Constitution's First Amendment protects the right to freely exercise one's religious beliefs, which the parents argued includes the right to pull their children out of lessons they find offensive.

They also pointed to school rules that allow parents to opt older children out of sex education.

The books include Uncle Bobby's Wedding, which tells the story of a girl being told about her uncle's planned gay wedding, and Born Ready: The True Story of a Boy Named Penelope, about a transgender boy.

The parents argued they have no objection to the books being on the shelf or available in the library.

Montgomery County Public Schools, Maryland's largest school system, added the books in an effort to provide greater diversity in the stories children read. In 2023, it removed the opt-out option because it caused classroom disruption and could expose LGBTQ students to social stigma and isolation.

In a statement on Friday, Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said the "ruling not only tells LGBTQ+ students that they don't belong, but that their experiences and existence are less worthy of respect".

Eric Baxter, the attorney representing the group of parents, said the court's ruling was "a win-win situation for parents everywhere".

At a hearing for the case earlier this year, the justices appeared split along ideological lines. The court's conservative majority expressed sympathy for the group's argument.

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