MARYLAND – The U.S. Supreme Court sided with Maryland parents in the Mahmoud v. Taylor case ruling that a school board policy compelling children into LGBTQ-themed instruction without giving parents a choice to opt-out violates the First Amendment. Justice Samuel Alito, who wrote the majority’s opinion, declared that the religious parents in the case are entitled to a preliminary injunction that blocks the policy because the LGBTQ instruction “undermines” the religious beliefs and practices that they “wish to instill” in their children. The case arose when a coalition of parents from various religious faiths, including Christian and Muslim, contested the “no opt-out” policy from the Montgomery County Board of Education. The high court ruled the school system could not require elementary school children to sit through lessons involving the books if parents expressed religious objections to the material.
