Worthy Christian News > US News > Supreme Court Backs Parents’ Right to Opt Out of LGBTQ Story Time in Major Religious Liberty Ruling

Supreme Court Backs Parents’ Right to Opt Out of LGBTQ Story Time in Major Religious Liberty Ruling

by Emmitt Barry, with reporting from Washington D.C. Bureau Staff

(Worthy News) – In a landmark 6-3 ruling Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with parents in Montgomery County, Maryland, affirming their right to opt their pre-K and elementary-aged children out of LGBTQ-inclusive story time and classroom instruction that conflicts with their religious beliefs.

The majority opinion, written by Justice Samuel Alito, declared that the First Amendment prohibits public schools from forcing religious families to submit their children to lessons that “pose a very real threat of undermining” their faith-based teachings. “A government cannot condition the benefit of free public education on parents’ acceptance of such instruction,” Alito wrote, ordering the lower courts to block the school’s policy pending further review.

The ruling marks a significant victory for religious rights advocates and reverses lower court decisions that had backed the Montgomery County Public Schools’ mandatory inclusivity curriculum. That program, launched in 2022, required children from preschool through fifth grade to participate in readings that promoted gender identity, same-sex marriage, and transgender transitions–without providing any opt-out options for parents.

Among the books at the heart of the case were “Pride Puppy”– which encourages toddlers to find drag queens, intersex flags, and leather at a pride parade — and “Born Ready: The True Story of a Boy Named Penelope,” which promotes the idea that children can choose their gender and that doctors merely “guess” a child’s sex at birth.

Teachers were also instructed to tell students that “not everyone is a boy or a girl,” and that some people identify as both, one, or neither–messaging that several parents, particularly from Christian, Muslim, and Jewish backgrounds, said directly contradicted their deeply held beliefs.

Initially, the school district allowed families to opt their children out of such lessons. But that policy was rescinded in 2023, prompting protests and a legal challenge from a group of parents backed by religious liberty organizations and supported by the Trump administration.

The high court’s ruling does not end the case but sends it back to the lower courts with instructions to apply strict scrutiny, the most rigorous standard of constitutional review. Under that standard, government policies that restrict religious freedoms are rarely upheld.

Justice Alito emphasized that “parents do not abandon their constitutional rights when they send their children to public school.” The three liberal justices–Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson–dissented, warning that the decision could undermine inclusivity efforts in public education.

Religious freedom advocates hailed the decision as a crucial stand for parental rights. “This ruling is a clear message: the state cannot force ideological conformity by targeting the youngest children in the classroom,” said one legal representative for the parents.

Latest Worthy News