(LifeSiteNews) — Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) has agreed to pay parents after $1.5 million to settle their lawsuit after the U.S. Supreme Court rebuked the school district or attempting to force children to read LGBT indoctrination materials.
As covered last June by LifeSiteNews, Mahmoud v. Taylor concerned MCPS mandating a list of LGBT reading materials for children in kindergarten through fifth grade, including “Prince and Knight,” a fairytale about a male knight and a prince who get “married,” a book on 50 “LGBTQ+” historical figures titled “Rainbow Revolutionaries” – including accused child abuser Harvey Milk – and the pro-transgender book “Born Ready: The True Story of a Boy Named Penelope.”
The district initially allowed parents to opt out but soon reversed itself in the name of fostering “inclusive and safe spaces for students.” The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals denied the parents’ request for a preliminary injunction while their lawsuit proceeded, prompting an appeal to the nation’s highest court.
SCOTUS ruled 6-3 in favor of parental rights, in a majority opinion written by conservative Justice Samuel Alito that the parents were entitled to a preliminary injunction against forcing their children to partake in the books, agreeing they were “likely to succeed on the merits; they are likely to suffer irreparable harm in the absence of preliminary relief; the balance of equities tips in their favor; and an injunction would be in the public interest.”
“A government burdens the religious exercise of parents when it requires them to submit their children to instruction that poses ‘a very real threat of undermining’ the religious beliefs and practices that the parents wish to instill,” Alito wrote. “And a government cannot condition the benefit of free public education on parents’ acceptance of such instruction.”
On February 20, the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty announced that a settlement has finally been reached in the case, under which MCPS has agreed to give parents advance notice of materials pertaining to “family life and human sexuality,” allow parents to opt out their children, and pay $1.5 million in damages to the parents.
“Public schools nationwide are on notice: running roughshod over parental rights and religious freedom isn’t just illegal—it’s costly,” declared Becket’s Eric Baxter, lead attorney in the case. “This settlement enforces the Supreme Court’s ruling and ensures parents, not government bureaucrats, have the final say in how their children are raised.”
“It took tremendous courage for these parents to stand up to the School Board and take their case all the way to the Supreme Court,” Baxter added. “Their victory reshaped the law and ensured that generations of religious parents will be able to guide their children’s upbringing according to their faith.”
The indoctrination of children with left-wing ideology on sexuality, race, and other agenda items has long been a major concern in American public schools, from libraries to drag events to classroom materials to even “transitioning” troubled children without parental input. Many schools have also displayed hostility to the rights and employment of individual teachers who refuse to go along with such agendas.
The Trump administration has taken steps to depoliticize public education, including by ordering the elimination of federal funds to schools that continue diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs and by reversing the Biden administration’s infusion of gender ideology into Title IX rules.