On Thursday, a federal court ruled that parents in Maryland do not have a right to opt their children out of classes which teach pro-LGBT curriculum.
According to the Washington Free Beacon, the group of parents had filed a lawsuit against Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), demanding that the district revive a policy that allowed them to pull their children out of classes that discussed books and other materials featuring LGBT characters. The policy was first enacted in January but then repealed in March.
“The Court concludes the plaintiffs’ asserted due process right to direct their children’s upbringing by opting out of a public-school curriculum that conflicts with their religious views is not a fundamental right,” Judge Deborah L. Boardman wrote in her ruling. Boardman was appointed by Joe Biden to serve on the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.
Such parental opt-out policies became a staple of the parents’ rights movement that began in 2021, when grassroots groups began protesting at school board meetings, demanding greater authority for parents when it comes to public education regarding controversial topics such as transgenderism and critical race theory. While some policies have been implemented in states like Virginia, more Democratically-controlled states like Maryland have actively resisted such efforts.
Another policy that has been championed by the parents’ rights movement is the required notification of parents when their child decides to become transgender at school. Blue states have doubled down on transgenderism, with many of them requiring their schools to keep such information secret from the parents, and to allow the child to freely “transition” while at school.
When schools within blue states try to resist these policies, they face lawsuits from the state government. In New Jersey, three school districts that have defied the state-mandated policy of keeping parents out of the loop have since been sued by state Attorney General Matthew Platkin (D-N.J.). Governor Phil Murphy (D-N.J.) has defended his attorney general’s actions, calling it “the American way.”