LGBTQ visibility? Not in classrooms, if religious challengers have their way at the SCOTUS.
But not everyone agrees. Tuesday, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in
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The parents — who are Muslim, Roman Catholic, and Ukrainian Orthodox — claim that inclusion of those books, without the ability to opt their children out of the curriculum, burdens their ability to exercise their religions. They argue that most states, including Maryland, offer opt-outs to classroom instruction about sex education and seek to enjoin the state from including the LGBTQ-focused books without a similar provision.
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So far, no court has sided with them. Most recently, the
Given those losses, and with no disagreement between circuit courts on what legal standard to apply, or any other compelling reason for the Supreme Court to step in, this would have been an easy case to simply decline to hear. But in January, the court put it on its docket anyway.
That is unsurprising to anyone who has paid attention to the justices in the court's majority, who earlier this term signaled that the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment should be read so broadly as to
This court allowed
out
of our government. It was meant to protect people from having religion foisted upon them, particularly by the government. That has been all but written out of the Constitution's text by the court's recent rulings.
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So what should you expect in Tuesday's argument? I expect the parents in the Maryland court to get their first sign of being on the winning side of a court case.
Others, like the
The argument will take place Tuesday at 10 a.m. EDT. You can listen live
This is an excerpt from
, a newsletter about the Supreme Court from columnist Kimberly Atkins Stohr.
Kimberly Atkins Stohr is a columnist for the Globe. She may be reached at
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