The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has affirmed a lower court’s ruling in a case that involves a Maryland school District and parents.
In a 2-1 panel decision, federal judges supported the ruling that parents with children who attend the Montgomery County Public Schools, Maryland, will not be allowed to opt their K-5 children out of the LGBTQ+ curriculum.
George W. Bush appointee, Judge G. Steven Agee, affirmed that parents would not be able to opt-out even for religious reasons because “parents did not present enough evidence to show that the policy violates the free exercise of their religion.
“We take no view on whether the Parents will be able to present evidence sufficient to support any of their various theories once they have the opportunity to develop a record as to the circumstances surrounding the Board’s decision and how the challenged texts are actually being used in schools,” Agee wrote. “At this early stage, however, given the Parents’ broad claims, the very high burden required to obtain a preliminary injunction, and the scant record before us, we are constrained to affirm the district court’s order denying a preliminary injunction.”
Christian, Muslim, and Jewish families were represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty and claimed that not being able to opt out of the curriculum violated their rights to upbringing their children with the family’s faith as it is defined in their belief system.
Parents were also upset over the guidelines given to the teachers and staff on how to reshape thinking.
From Breitbart News:
The guidance also counsels that if a student says that “a girl . . . can only like boys because she’s a girl,” the teacher can “[d]isrupt the either/or thinking by saying something like: actually, people of any gender can like whoever they like. . . . How do you think it would make __(character’s name)__ to hear you say that? Do you think it’s fair for people to decide for us who we can and can’t like?”
So there you have it: Taxpayers who fund the schools are not allowed to opt their kids out of things they don’t agree with.
