WASHINGTON, DC (AP) – The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing arguments today over the religious rights of parents in Maryland to remove their children from elementary school classes using storybooks with LGBTQ characters. The case is the latest dispute involving religion to come before the nation’s highest court. The justices have repeatedly endorsed claims of religious discrimination in recent years. The Montgomery County Public Schools introduced the storybooks as part of an effort to reflect the district’s diverse population. Parents, who are Christian, Jewish, and Muslim, sued after the school system refused to allow them to pull their children from lessons that included the books. The parents argue that public schools cannot force kids to participate in instruction that violates their faith, and they pointed to the opt-out provisions in sex education classes. The schools said allowing children to opt out of the lessons had become disruptive. Lower courts backed the schools, prompting the parents’ appeal to the Supreme Court. A decision in Mahmoud v. Taylor is expected by early summer.
