A federal judge has ordered Maryland’s largest public school district to pay $1.5 million to a group of religious parents after the district eliminated notice and opt-out options for LGBT-themed classroom books.
The ruling stems from a dispute over elementary school materials, some of which introduced themes of gender transitioning and pride parades to children as young as 4.
U.S. District Judge Deborah L. Boardman issued the monetary award along with a permanent injunction on Thursday. The order follows a U.S. Supreme Court decision last June holding that Montgomery County Public Schools may not compel students to participate in lessons featuring LGBT-themed books without providing parental consent options.
Under the newly issued settlement terms and injunction, the Montgomery County Board of Education must provide advance notice when instructional materials include LGBT-related content and allow parents to excuse their children if the material conflicts with their religious convictions.
The case reached the nation’s highest court after a religiously diverse coalition of parents objected to the district’s refusal to permit opt-outs from lessons involving books that depict gender transitions and same-sex relationships.
The controversy began in 2022, when the Montgomery County Board of Education added several LGBT-themed titles to the English language arts curriculum. Among them were Born Ready: The True Story of a Boy Named Penelope and Pride Puppy, a picture book centered on a pride parade that invites children to identify various images within the illustrations.
Although parents were initially allowed to remove their children from those lessons, the district later rescinded that option.
In 2023, Christian and Muslim parents joined together in protests outside the district’s Rockville offices before filing suit, arguing that the policy violated their sincerely held religious beliefs.
Judge Boardman, appointed by President Joe Biden, denied the parents’ request for a preliminary injunction in August 2023, ruling that they had not demonstrated that “the use of the storybooks crosses the line from permissible influence to potentially impermissible indoctrination.”
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed that decision in May 2024 by a 2–1 vote. Circuit Judge G. Steven Agee authored the majority opinion upholding the lower court’s ruling.
However, the Supreme Court reversed course in a 6–3 decision. Writing for the majority, Justice Samuel Alito emphasized constitutional protections for parental religious instruction.
“The practice of educating one's children in one's religious beliefs, like all religious acts and practices, receives a generous measure of protection from our Constitution.”
“And this is not merely a right to teach religion in the confines of one's own home. Rather, it extends to the choices that parents wish to make for their children outside the home,” he added.
