On April 22, 2025, the Supreme Court reviewed a lawsuit brought by a group of parents from Montgomery County, Maryland, who demand the right to exclude their children from elementary classes that include books with LGBTQ themes.
Known as Mahmoud v. Taylor, this litigation represents a battle for religious freedom and the fundamental right of parents to guide their children’s moral education in the face of what they see as ideological imposition in classrooms.
The Court must rule in favor of the parents to protect developing children and preserve parental authority in an educational system that appears increasingly coercive.
A controversial curriculum with no opt-out option.
In 2022, the Montgomery County school district, which educates more than 160,000 students, integrated into the elementary school language arts curriculum books featuring LGBTQ characters and themes.
Yahoo News reported on the types of stories:
In Uncle Bobby’s Wedding, a niece worries that her uncle won’t have as much time for her after getting married. His partner is a man. Love, Violet is about a girl’s anxiety in giving a Valentine’s card to another girl. Born Ready tells the story of a transgender boy’s decision to share his gender identity with his family and the world. Intersection Allies features nine characters from diverse backgrounds, including one who is gender-fluid.
The books were selected “to better represent all families in Montgomery County,” and teachers are not allowed to use them “to pressure students to change or renounce their religious views,” according to school attorneys.
These texts, aimed at children ages 4 to 11, are part of a state effort to promote “inclusion” and reflect the diversity of families in the county.Initially, parents could exclude their children from these lessons, but in 2023 the district eliminated this option, calling it “unsustainable” due to the volume of requests.
According to the district’s attorney, Alan Schoenfeld, managing exemptions was a “logistical chaos.” This decision left parents with no alternative, forcing young children to be exposed to content that is morally incompatible with the religious beliefs of traditional and conservative families.
The parents’ outcry: protecting children’s innocence.
The plaintiffs, a diverse group of Muslim, Catholic Christian, and Ukrainian Orthodox parents, argue that the district’s policy violates the First Amendment, which guarantees the free exercise of religion.
They are not seeking to ban the books or impose their beliefs but simply to protect their children from messages that contradict their values, such as the normalization of same-sex marriage or non-binary gender identities.
Eric Baxter, their attorney, emphasized that preschool and elementary-age children are too young to process these ideas without perceiving them as a moral imposition.
Parents’ concern is valid: children in their formative years are particularly vulnerable to the messages they receive.
Books that present LGBTQ relationships as equivalent to traditional ones are not neutral; they convey a value judgment that may confuse young children, especially when their families hold opposing religious beliefs.
Forcing their exposure to this content without allowing opt-outs is, in essence, a form of indoctrination
The false narrative of inclusion.
The school district defends the books as tools to teach tolerance and reflect the diversity of families. Schoenfeld argued that the texts do not explicitly address sexuality but rather present stories about diverse families.
However, this narrative ignores the fact that children do not read these books in a vacuum. In a context where teachers present them as positive models, young children may interpret them as validation of values that conflict with those of their homes.
Worse still, the district equates religious objections with intolerance, stigmatizing parents who simply wish to protect their children’s innocence.
A conservative Court in defense of freedom.
The Court’s conservative majority, with six justices, showed sympathy for the parents during hearings. Justice Samuel Alito questioned how 3- or 4-year-old children could distinguish the messages in the books from their family’s beliefs, suggesting the district underestimates the impact of these texts.
This support is a ray of hope for parents facing an increasingly authoritarian educational system.
In a country founded on religious freedom, the idea that schools can impose ideologies on young children without parental consent is deeply un-American.
The Court has the opportunity to reaffirm that parents—not school bureaucrats—are the primary decision-makers in their children’s moral education.
The Trump administration, which supported the parents in this case, reflects a growing conservative movement to return control to families.
A ruling in favor of the parents in Mahmoud v. Taylor, expected in June 2025, would be a victory for religious freedom and parental rights.
It would not only allow Montgomery County parents to protect their children from content they consider inappropriate, but also set a precedent for other communities to resist the imposition of ideological curricula.
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