WASHINGTON, DC – Religious Freedom Institute is celebrating the approval of a consent motion by a federal district court judge awarding $1.5 million in damages to Christian and Muslim families in Montgomery County, Maryland. The U.S. Supreme Court decision in Mahmoud v. Taylor forced the Montgomery County Board of Education to acquiesce to these parents’ reasonable request, denied to them to opt their children out of a language arts curriculum that introduced “LGBTQ” concepts to students from kindergarten to 12th grade. RFI President David Trimble said we are pleased to see that the constitutional rights of these parents continue to be vindicated in federal court. In 2023, the Montgomery County Board of Education added instruction across the district promoting same-sex relationships and the idea that children can change their sex. The Board initially gave parents the right to opt out their children, but then changed course, claiming that requiring all children to encounter these lessons furthered its mission of “inclusion.” A group of parents filed a lawsuit in federal court arguing that the Board’s denial violated their First Amendment right to the free exercise of religion and their fundamental right to direct the upbringing of their children. They succeeded in securing a favorable ruling in the U.S. Supreme Court last June.
