Supreme Court takes up Maryland parents' bid to opt kids out of lessons with LGBTQ books
CBSN
Washington — The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to take up a dispute over whether a Maryland school district violated parents' religious rights when it declined to allow them to opt their elementary school children out of instruction involving storybooks about gender and sexuality.
The dispute centers around a decision by the Montgomery County School Board to end opt-out requests and notice requirements for the reading and discussion of storybooks that feature LGBTQ characters. The case sets up another clash involving LGBTQ rights and religious rights. It's unclear whether the Supreme Court will hear arguments in its current term, which ends this summer, or its next term that will begin in October.
The books were approved for the Montgomery County Public Schools language-arts curriculum for the 2022-2023 school year as part of an effort to include new material that better represents the school district's students and families, it said. Montgomery County is Maryland's largest county and its school system serves more than 160,000 students.
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