A federal appeals court in Richmond on Wednesday rejected efforts by a group of Maryland parents to allow their elementary school children to opt out of lessons involving LGBT-themed books.
“There’s no evidence at present that the board’s decision not to permit opt-outs compels the parents or their children to change their religious beliefs or conduct, either at school or elsewhere,” U.S. Circuit Judge Steven Agee, who was appointed under President George W. Bush, wrote in the majority opinion. “Simply hearing about other views does not necessarily exert pressure to believe or act differently than one’s religious faith requires.”
Books ‘Contradict Sincerely Held Religious Beliefs’
Books in the series included “Pride Puppy!” by Robin Stevenson about a dog who gets lost during a pride parade, and “Born Ready: The True Story of a Boy Named Penelope,” by Jodie Patterson about her transgender son’s experience.
While the school board initially gave parents the chance to opt their children out of being exposed to the books, beginning with the current school year, it scrapped the the opt-out option.
The parents, along with parents’ rights organization Kids First, subsequently argued in court that they should be able to opt their children out of the discussion of books with “lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer characters” because the books’ messages “contradict their sincerely held religious beliefs about marriage, human sexuality, and gender.”
The families of diverse faiths further claimed that the no-opt-out policy violates their and their children’s free exercise and free speech rights under the First Amendment, the parents’ substantive due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment, and Maryland law.
However, the school board counter-argued in legal filings that the books are important literacy tools intended to teach English and language arts and were approved as part of efforts to reflect the diversity of the school community.
They also advance the school board’s goal to normalize an inclusive environment, school officials said.
Books Create ‘Inclusive’ Environment
“They do not prompt children to explore romantic feelings or question their sexual orientation or gender identity,” the school board wrote in court filings late last year. “They are language arts instructional materials—approved by specialists for use in the ELA curriculum—that reflect the communities in which [Montgomery County Public Schools] students live.”In the court’s majority ruling on Wednesday, Judge Agee wrote that the record regarding how teachers were actually using the books in their classrooms and what, exactly children were being taught from them was “threadbare.”
“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,” he wrote.
Judge Agee suggested further litigation in the matter may be on the cards.
“Proof that discussions are pressuring students to recast their own religious views—as opposed to merely being exposed to the differing viewpoints of others—could serve as evidence that the storybooks are being used in a coercive manner,” the judge wrote. “Those sorts of conversations, if occurring, may veer into the sort of pressures that could constitute coercion, particularly to young children.”
Judge Agee was joined by U.S. Circuit Judge DeAndrea Benjamin, who was appointed under President Joe Biden, in denying the parents’ temporary injunction.
U.S. Circuit Judge A. Marvin Quattlebaum, Jr., who was appointed under President Donald Trump, dissented.
The Epoch Times has contacted a lawyer for the plaintiffs for comment.
