School district to pay parents $1.5 million after Supreme Court rules parents have the right to opt out of LGBT curriculum

The Montgomery County, Maryland, Board of Education will pay a group of parents $1.5 million after the parties reached a settlement in a landmark religious liberty and parental rights case.

The settlement, reached on Feb. 19, follows the Supreme Court’s ruling last year in Mahmoud v. Taylor, when the court agreed that school districts must notify parents and allow for an opt-out when reading LGBTQ-related books to children. The books in question included controversial topics and terms such as “queer farmers,” drag queens, and “pride puppy,” prompting a diverse group of Muslims, Jews, and Christians to challenge the materials on religious grounds. 

The Supreme Court’s majority opinion in the case recognized the “rights of parents to direct ‘the religious upbringing’ of their children,’” and said the right extends outside of the family’s home.

“Public schools nationwide are on notice: running roughshod over parental rights and religious freedom isn’t just illegal – it’s costly,” Becket senior counsel Eric Baxter, lead attorney for the parents, said in a statement. “This settlement enforces the Supreme Court’s ruling and ensures parents, not government bureaucrats, have the final say in how their children are raised.”  

The Montgomery County Board of Education is now required to “provide parents with advance notice when instructional materials addressing family life and human sexuality will be used,” and allow parents to opt out.

Baxter said it “took tremendous courage” for the group of parents to stand up to the school district and take the case to the Supreme Court. “Their victory reshaped the law and ensured that generations of religious parents will be able to guide their children’s upbringing according to their faith.”

The Lion reached out to the Montgomery County Board of Education for comment.

Despite the Supreme Court’s ruling, some school districts across the country are openly disregarding the decision, as The Lion reported, including Seattle Public Schools. The district’s policy states that there is “no option to ‘opt students out’ of learning about particular identities or groups of people,” forcing children as young as kindergarten to learn LGBTQ themes. The policy has prompted legal concerns in the wake of the court ruling.