A split finding from a federal appeals court on Wednesday ousted an appeal by a group of Maryland parents desiring to oblige a school district to permit them to excuse their elementary school kids from reading books featuring LGBTQ characters.
Maryland Parents Contest School Book Policy on LGBTQ Content
A 2-1 panel of judges from the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, ruled that the parents were unsuccessful in displaying how the Montgomery County Board of Education's book policy would obstruct anyone's religious freedoms.
Represented by attorneys from the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, the parents disputed a curriculum for young kids that included books representing gay, transgender, and non-binary people in numerous sequences of events.
The parents, comprising Muslims, Christians, and Jews, along with the parental rights organization Kids First, contested that the board's policy violated their religious rights under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution by not allowing an opt-out provision.
However, U.S. Circuit Judge G. Steven Agee, writing the majority opinion, noted the inadequacy of important proof regarding how teachers were using the books in classrooms and what concepts were being expressed to the children.
Agee emphasized that such details were crucial for the parents to establish that the absence of an opt-out choice was disrupting their children's religious education.
The opinion by Agee, appointed by former President George W. Bush, got unanimity from U.S. Circuit Judge DeAndrea Benjamin, appointed by President Joe Biden.
In dissent, U.S. Circuit Judge A. Marvin Quattlebaum, Jr., appointed by former President Donald Trump, affirmed that the board disregarded the parents' First Amendment right to direct their children's religious upbringing.
Parents' Attorney Indicate Plans to Continue Pursuing Appeals
Eric Baxter, the parents' attorney at Becket, expressed intentions to pursue further appeals, criticizing the court's decision for disempowering Maryland parents regarding their children's education.
The case revolved around a series of LGBTQ-inclusive storybooks certified by the board in 2022 for use in the Montgomery County Public Schools' curriculum.
Among these were "Pride Puppy!" by Robin Stevenson, describing a dog navigating a Pride parade, and "Born Ready: The True Story of a Boy Named Penelope" by Jodie Patterson, recounting her transgender son's journey.
Originally, parents could choose their children out of reading these books, but the board discarded this option starting the 2023-2024 school year, prompting the lawsuit after a lower-court judge neglected to release a preliminary injunction, leading the six parents to appeal.
Baxter explains that their group does not encourage the elimination of these books from classrooms but rather for parents to have the right to choose if certain content is not appropriate for their child and to eliminate them from the classroom accordingly.
They plan to look for a review of the case by the U.S. Supreme Court and remain optimistic for a favorable result. An MCPS spokesperson declared they have not yet seen the ruling and cannot comment on continuing litigation.
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