Coming Here? ‘Not a Fundamental Right’: Maryland Court Strikes Down Parents’ Request to Opt Kids Out of LGBT Curriculum – National Review

Think it couldn’t happen in Prince William County? This is a story from Montgomery County, Maryland but what is to stop this from happening here? The current Prince William County School Board has no interest in defending the rights of parents nor their children. They are there to protect the rights of the teachers’ unions. Jen Wall is the only voice of sanity on the school board. If you want to protect your children, vote in a new school board to join Jen this November.

A Maryland district court denied parents’ appeal to reinstate an opt-out policy in Montgomery County Public Schools on Thursday.

The case, Tamer Mahmoud v. Monica B. McKnight, hinged on whether the district’s May decision to rescind its opt-out policy for LGBT curricula violated parents’ right to direct the religious instruction of their children.

The court concluded that, “the plaintiffs’ asserted due process right to direct their children’s upbringing by opting out of a public-school curriculum that conflicts with their religious views is not a fundamental right….”

Parents could opt their children out of gender and sexuality lessons until March, when the district banned the option. With Becket Law, religious families filed a lawsuit against the district in May, claiming the policy violates their First Amendment right to guide the religious instruction of their children.

Becket senior counsel, Eric Baxter said that the school board “should let kids be kids and let parents parent.”

“Today, the district court decided parents have no right to notice when extreme ideology is pushed on their elementary-age children during story hour,” Baxter tweeted. “With the new school year beginning, the case is on the fast track to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals—and the parents plan to appeal the decision.”

“Children are entitled to enjoy a period of innocence and be guided by their own parents on how and when to approach the complex and sensitive issues being pushed by the School Board,” he added.

The district’s LGBTQ curricula introduces pre-K through eighth grade students to “inclusivity” books that contain references to gay pride parades, gender transition, and pronoun preference. Teachers are instructed to lead classroom discussions about the books, which cite terms such as, “intersex,” “drag queen,” and “non-binary.” One book claims that doctors only “guess” when determining a newborn’s sex.”

By HALEY STRACK, National Review

August 24, 2023