The US Supreme Court has stated that parents of public schools have the right to choose not to participate in classes that conflict with their religious beliefs, deciding that a Maryland County probably violated the constitution by using inclusive books for LGBTQ people without notifying parents.
The 6-3 decision, announced on Friday, is the latest in a series of Supreme Court decisions that strengthened religious rights, even when they are shocked by other social values. In the most recent case, Montgomery County officials said they were trying to ensure that the elementary school curriculum reflected the diversity of the community, including LGBTQ families.
Writing for the conservative majority, Judge Samuel Alito stated that the education of children by parents, based on religious beliefs, “receives a generous protection of our constitution.”
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“A government imposes a burden on parents’ religious exercise when they demand that they submit their children to instructions that represent a real threat of undermining religious beliefs and practices that parents want to instill,” said Alito. “And a government cannot condition the benefit of free public education to accept this type of instruction by parents.”
The decision occurs in the context of President Donald Trump’s broad effort to ban initiatives of diversity and reverse some LGBTQ rights, especially in relation to transgender people.
Trump, at a press conference on Friday, called the decision “a tremendous victory for parents.”
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In a dissident opinion, Judge Sonia Sotomayor wrote, on behalf of the three liberal judges, that most were inaugurating a “new reality” in which children will be “isolated” of diverse ideas and concepts for religious reasons, rather than being exposed to a multicultural society.
“Leaving aside old precedents, the Court invents a constitutional right to avoid exposure to subtle themes contrary to the religious principles that parents want to instill in their children,” wrote Sotomayor. “Exposing students to the message that LGBTQ people exist, and that their loved ones can celebrate marriages and life events, mostly, is enough to trigger the most rigorous form of judicial analysis.”
Montgomery’s County program includes a book about a girl who is upset by the engagement of her favorite uncle with another man until the groom becomes her friend. Another book, approved for use already in the kindergarten, revolves around a child named Penelope, who tells his mother that he is a boy.
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“Like all other language art curriculum books, these books convey critical reading skills through age -appropriate stories,” the county told his document to the Supreme Court. The school system “follows a careful, public and participatory selection process to ensure that these criteria are met”.
The program was contested by six parents, led by Muslims Tamer Mahmoud and Enas Barakat.
‘Historical Victory’
Eric Baxter, vice president and senior counselor of the Beket Religious Freedom Group, who defended the case on behalf of his parents, called the decision “historical victory for parents’ rights”.
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“Children should not be forced to participate in conversations about drag queen, pride stops or gender transitions without parents’ permission,” Baxter said in a statement. “Today, the court has restored common sense and made it clear that parents – not the government – have the final word about how their children are raised.”
School authorities said parents needed to demonstrate that they or their children were being coerced to modify their religious beliefs or practices. Parents argued that coercion is not the proper test and that the Constitution prohibits public schools to interfere with children’s religious education.
At one point, Montgomery County schools notified parents about planned classes and allowed the exclusion option, but the school district changed their policy before the 2023-24 school year. Subsequently, the district stated that the notification and exclusion system had become very costly.
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A Federal Court of Appeals ruled against parents, saying that it was not yet clear how the books would be used in the classroom. The panel stated that as the process advanced, families would have to prove that they or their children were being coerced to change their religious beliefs or practices.
The court has favored religious rights in about a dozen cases in the last decade. Critics say decisions have impaired reproductive rights as well as protections for racial minorities and the LGBTQ community.
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