A federal appeals court in Richmond recently rejected efforts by a group of Maryland parents to allow their elementary school children to opt out of lessons involving books with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGB-TQ) themes. The parents argued that the messages in these books contradicted their sincerely held religious beliefs about marriage, human sexuality, and gender. They also claimed that the no-opt-out policy violated their and their children’s free exercise, free speech rights under the First Amendment, the parents’ substantive due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment, and Maryland law.
The school board argued that these books were important literacy tools intended to teach English and language arts and had been approved as part of efforts to reflect the diversity of the school community. The court’s majority opinion acknowledged the possibility of further litigation, noting that proof of discussions pressuring students to recast their own religious views could serve as evidence of coercion, particularly for young children. However, at this stage, the court was unable to grant a preliminary injunction based on the limited information available about how teachers were using the books in their classrooms and what, exactly, children were being taught from them.
