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Library book table at Montgomery County Public Schools’ recent ‘PRIDE Town Hall’ for students and staff, displaying an array of pro-'LGBTQIA+' books, some of which are now required reading for the county’s elementary school students. Doug Mainwaring/LifeSiteNews

(LifeSiteNews) — A group of  parents have filed a lawsuit against Maryland’s largest, wealthiest school district seeking to determine whether they “have the right to opt their children out of classroom instruction regarding family life and human sexuality.” 

Put differently: The school system has usurped parental authority by insisting on mandating that all public school students, pre-K-5, undergo “LGBTQIA+” grooming.   

The suit, filed by attorneys at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland on behalf of conservative Christian and Muslim parents, names members of the Montgomery County Board of Education (BOE) and Montgomery County Superintendent Monifa B. McKnight as defendants.   

According to the 48-page legal complaint, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) “claims authority to introduce pre-K and elementary school kids to certain books (the ‘Pride Storybooks’) that promote one-sided transgender ideology, encourage gender transitioning, and focus excessively on romantic infatuation – with no parental notification or opportunity to opt out.” 

“One book invites three- and four-year-olds to look for images of things they might find at a pride parade, including an ‘intersex [flag],’ a ‘[drag] king’ and ‘[drag] queen,’ ‘leather,’ ‘underwear,’ and an image of a celebrated LGBTQ activist and sex worker, ‘Marsha P. Johnson,’” notes the legal filing.

READ: Maryland’s largest school district is teaching 4-year-olds about LGBT ‘pride’ without parents’ consent

‘Pride Puppy!’ Intended for 3-4 year olds/Screenshot

It cites another for fifth-graders that “advocates a child-knows-best approach to gender transitioning, telling students that a decision to transition doesn’t have to ‘make sense’ and that students are the best ‘teacher’ on such matters, not parents or other adults.” 

Cover and interior pages from one of the books cited in the parents’ complaint, titled ‘Born Ready: The true story of a boy named Penelope.’ This pro-transgender book was displayed on the MCPS library table at the MCPS ‘PRIDE Town Hall’ (as seen in the top photo)./Screenshot

Shortly after the lawsuit was filed, a Twitter account with the official-sounding name, LGBTQ at MCPS, posted a page of the lawsuit listing the names of the parent-plaintiffs. The account, which has been functioning under that name since 2019, clarified that it is “not directly affiliated with MCPS,” still operates under that name, suggesting that its existence enjoys tacit approval from MCPS. 

“The posting had its intended effect, riling up people that picked up the mantle to further threaten not only the parents, but stir a potentially threatening environment for the students,” noted Clean Slate MoCo, a non-partisan website that serves as a Montgomery County political watchdog.  

Although the initial posting by LGBTQ at MCPS was deleted, Clean Slate Montgomery posted screenshots showing how the public was urged to doxx the families who hoped to protect their children from exposure to what amounts to extreme LGBT grooming: 

CleanSlateMoCo/Twitter screenshots

“Children are entitled to guidance from their own parents, who know and love them best, regarding how they’ll be introduced to complex issues concerning gender identity, transgenderism, and human sexuality,” said Eric Baxter, vice president and senior counsel at Becket, in a press release. “Forced, ideological discussions during story hour won’t cut it, and excluding parents will only hinder, not help, inclusivity.”  

“Like states nationwide, Maryland has long recognized that parents have the right to opt their children out of school activities that conflict with their religious beliefs or push sham science,” Baxter said. “When it comes to kids, it’s still ‘mom and dad know best.’ Schools can best help kids learn kindness by teaming up with parents, not cutting them out of the picture.” 

The Becket Fund lawyers are asking the U.S. District Court of Maryland to immediately block the school board’s “no notice, no opt-out” policy.

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