A federal appeals court rejected a bid by a group of Maryland parents to require Montgomery County Public Schools to allow them to exclude their children from classes involving LGBTQ-inclusive material.
A divided three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling denying an injunction on the basis that the parents had not yet demonstrated how the U.S. board of education’s textbook policy would infringe on their right. to the free expression of religion.
Three groups of parents – who are Muslim, Jewish and Christian – along with a parental rights organization, sued the Maryland school district after it said it would no longer allow parents to exclude their children from classes that use a list of LGBTQ- recently approved. inclusive books.
The parents argued that the books “contradict their sincerely held religious beliefs about marriage, human sexuality and gender” and that the lack of an exclusionary policy violates their children’s First Amendment right to the free exercise of religion.
U.S. Circuit Judge G. Steven Agee, writing for the majority in the opinion, said there was insufficient evidence in the record to assess how the books were being used in the classroom and therefore to assess the likelihood of the case being successful.
“We have no opinion as to whether the Parents will be able to present sufficient evidence to support any of their various theories once they have the opportunity to develop a record of the circumstances surrounding the Council’s decision and how the contested texts are actually being used in schools,” wrote Agee, appointed by former President George W. Bush.
“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 compelled to affirm the district court’s order denying an injunction,” he continued. , in the opinion, which was joined by U.S. Circuit Judge DeAndrea Benjamin, appointed by President Biden.
U.S. Circuit Judge A. Marvin Quattlebaum Jr., appointed by former President Trump, disagreed, arguing that the board violated parents’ right to influence their children’s religious education.
Eric Baxter — vice president and senior counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which represents the parents — promised to appeal the ruling Wednesday in a statement emailed to The Hill.
“The court just told thousands of Maryland parents that they have no say in what their children learn in public schools,” Baxter said in his statement. “This goes against the First Amendment, Maryland law, the School Board’s own policies and basic human decency.”
“Parents should have the right to be warned and to exclude their children from classroom materials that violate their faith. We will appeal this decision,” she added.
In August 2023, U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman concluded that the parents were unlikely to succeed on the merits and denied their request to keep the policy in place while the case progresses. She found that they failed to demonstrate that the lack of an exclusionary policy would result in “indoctrinating their children” or “coercing their children to violate or change their religious beliefs.”
“Parents can still instruct their children about their religious beliefs regarding sexuality, marriage and gender, and each family can express opposing views within its religious context,” Boardman wrote in last year’s order.
“No government action prevents parents from freely discussing the themes raised in storybooks with their children or from teaching them as they wish,” he added.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
