Supreme Court OKs opt-out for LGBTQ+ materials in school
Friday's 6-3 ruling, split along ideological lines, found that Maryland's Montgomery County Public Schools violated parents' First Amendment rights to religious exercise by not giving them advanced notice or an opportunity to opt their children out of certain lessons. The school board had initially allowed parents to opt out of lessons, but the board's policy reversal in the 2023-2024 school year sparked a legal challenge.
The school district said it had withdrawn its opt-out notice policy because it became unmanageable and resulted in reports of high absenteeism to the school board.
Justice Samuel Alito wrote the majority opinion and the court's three liberal justices dissented.
Alito said the school board's introduction of LGBTQ+-inclusive storybooks and decision to end its opt-out policy 'substantially interferes with the religious development of petitioners' children.'
'The books are unmistakably normative,' he wrote. 'They are designed to present certain values and beliefs as things to be celebrated, and certain contrary values and beliefs as things to be rejected.'
The decision comes after a group of Muslim, Christian and Jewish parents sued the Montgomery County Board of Education, which oversees Maryland's largest school district, after the board refused to allow parents to pull their elementary school children from lessons with LGBTQ+ themes.
Arguments in the case against the Maryland school board focused on whether requiring students to participate in lessons including LGBTQ+ themes could constitute coercion. Justices ruled that the parents suing were entitled to a preliminary injunction while the case is ongoing because they were likely to succeed in their challenge to the board's policies.
The high court's conservative majority said the parents hold 'sincere views on sexuality and gender which they wish to pass on to their children.' The court also rejected the school board's argument that the lessons were used only as 'exposure to objectionable ideas' because the books 'unmistakably convey a particular viewpoint about same-sex marriage and gender.'
Alito made an example of books about same-sex marriage, saying the storybooks are designed to present a viewpoint to 'young, impressionable children who are likely to accept without question any moral messages conveyed by their teacher's instruction.' He argued that the parents are not seeking 'the right to micromanage the public school curriculum' but instead to opt out of particular lessons 'that burdens their well-established right 'to direct 'the religious upbringing' of their children.''
'Many Americans, like the parents in this case, believe that biological sex reflects divine creation, that sex and gender are inseparable, and that children should be encouraged to accept their sex and to live accordingly,' he added. 'The storybooks, however, suggest that it is hurtful, and perhaps even hateful, to hold the view that gender is inextricably bound with biological sex.'
He included photos from the book 'Uncle Bobby's Wedding,' which celebrates a relationship between two men; 'Born Ready,' which highlights a transgender boy's journey; and several other stories on LGBTQ issues.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who sparred with Alito over the storybooks during oral arguments in the case, wrote the dissent. She said the ruling 'threatens the very essence of public education' and 'constitutionalizes a parental veto power over curricular choices long left to the democratic process and local administrators.'
'The result will be chaos for this Nation's public schools,' she wrote. 'Requiring schools to provide advance notice and the chance to opt out of every lesson plan or story time that might implicate a parent's religious beliefs will impose impossible administrative burdens on schools.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Los Angeles Times
3 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Trump tax law could cause Medicare cuts if Congress doesn't act, CBO says
WASHINGTON — The federal budget deficits caused by President Trump's tax and spending law could trigger automatic cuts to Medicare if Congress does not act, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reported Friday. The CBO estimates that Medicare, the federal health insurance program for Americans over age 65, could potentially see as much as $491 billion in cuts from 2027 to 2034 if Congress does not act to mitigate a 2010 law that forces across-the-board cuts to many federal programs once legislation increases the federal deficit. The latest report from CBO showed how Trump's signature tax and spending law could put new pressure on federal programs that are bedrocks of the American social safety net. Trump and Republicans pledged not to cut Medicare as part of the legislation, but the estimated $3.4 trillion that the law adds to the federal deficit over the next decade means that many Medicare programs could see cuts. In the past, Congress has always acted to mitigate cuts to Medicare and other programs, but it would take some bipartisan cooperation to do so. Democrats, who requested the analysis from CBO, jumped on the potential cuts. 'Republicans knew their tax breaks for billionaires would force over half a trillion dollars in Medicare cuts — and they did it anyway,' Rep. Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania, the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, said in a statement. 'American families simply cannot afford Donald Trump's attacks on Medicare, Medicaid and Obamacare.' Hospitals in rural parts of the country are already grappling with cuts to Medicaid, which is available to people with low incomes, and cuts to Medicare could exacerbate their shortfalls. As Republicans muscled the bill through Congress and are now selling it to voters back home, they have been critical of how the CBO has analyzed the bill. They have also argued that the tax cuts will spur economic growth and pointed to $50 billion in funding for rural hospitals that was included in the package. Groves writes for the Associated Press.
New York Post
3 hours ago
- New York Post
Trump's ‘quiet' stance after Alaska meeting with Putin suggests there's still ‘sticking points' to Ukraine peace, officials say
President Trump's vague, post-meeting press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska demonstrated that 'significant roadblocks' stand in the way of peace in Ukraine, several officials suggested Friday. 'That was different,' former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo quipped shortly after the Trump-Putin presser, where neither leader took questions from reporters — or offered details about what a possible cease-fire to halt the two-and-a-half-years-long war would entail. Pompeo, in an interview with Fox News host Brian Kilmeade, noted that Trump is usually 'very straightforward,' 'very forward leaning' and shares 'all the things that he can' with the press — but didn't in Anchorage. 'Clearly he felt in this instance, to deliver on behalf of America, the best thing to do was to be quiet,' the former Trump Cabinet official said. 4 Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo believes that President Trump was deliberately guarded after his meeting with Vladimir Putin. AFP via Getty Images Pompeo insisted that Americans shouldn't 'over-read that' but maintained Trump was 'pretty non-transparent,' suggesting, 'there are significant roadblocks along the way that remain. 'I think there's still significant sticking points along the way,' he added. 'They may have identified interests that they can work their way through, perhaps on economic matters and the like, but it sounds to me like sort of the central issue … Vladimir Putin's willingness to conduct a cease-fire with no condition … it doesn't sound like Putin showed up today ready to concede that core point.' House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast (R-Fla.) argued that Trump seemed to be 'clear-eyed' about negotiations with the Russian president at the summit. 'I think his posture showed that he was clear-eyed about what Vladimir Putin was saying and where Vladimir Putin was wrong,' Mast told Fox News. 'It is just crystal clear that Putin's back is against the wall,' the congressman continued. 'And I think [Trump] demonstrated that clearness with his very first action, before saying a word, with the fact that he flew B2 bombers over [Putin's] head.' 4 Congressman Brian Mast said it's clear Putin's 'back is against the wall.' REUTERS Mast argued the flyover was 'not an accident' and that it sent a message to the Russian strongman. 'It was a signal to [Putin] that when President Trump says, 'Hey, there could be very serious consequences,' he's saying that these serious consequences can be very far reaching,' the Florida Republican said. 'Maybe it's fires that we sell to European countries or other NATO countries that can reach Moscow or St. Petersburg or oil refiners or other things, or maybe it's other weapon systems that we get into the hands of the Ukrainians,' Mast said of potential consequences Russia could face. Razom for Ukraine, a nonprofit humanitarian aid and advocacy organization backing Kyiv in the fight against Russia, said in a statement that the meeting 'reaffirms that the only way to achieve a genuine peace is by pressuring Russia, not by believing Putin's lies that he wants peace.' 'Putin remains the sole obstacle to peace,' CEO Dora Chomiak said in the statement. 4 Mast also argued that the choice to fly B2 bombers was not an accident. AFP via Getty Images Chomiak noted that 'just before Putin landed in Alaska, Russia launched another massive air strike on Ukrainian civilians, reminding us all that he won't end Russia's invasion until he's forced to.' 'The idea that Putin believes there is a positive deal for him in the near future is deeply alarming,' she added, calling on Trump to 'immediately get Ukraine the weapons it needs to save innocent families from Putin's brutal attacks. 'Putin still has hope that he can conquer Ukraine. President Trump must prove him wrong.' Ukrainian Parliament member Oleksandr Merezhko argued that Putin came out the winner of 'the informational war' after the meeting, but appeared as an equal to Trump. 'He used Trump to show that he is not isolated,' Merezhko said, according to the New York Times. 4 Some officials said Putin remains the chief obstacle to peace. REUTERS Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky criticized Putin for repeating the 'same propagandistic clichés about the 'roots of the conflict' that his state television keeps repeating,' according to Reuters. 'The problem is Russian imperialism, not Ukraine's desire to live in freedom,' Lipavsky said. 'If Putin were serious about peace talks, Russia would not have been attacking Ukraine all day today.'
San Francisco Chronicle
4 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Federal judge orders Oakland public schools to allow religious after-school clubs
A U.S. District Court judge has ordered the Oakland Unified School District to allow a Christian ministry to use public school buildings for after-school meetings. The temporary order comes after the Child Evangelism Fellowship sued the Oakland school district in December, alleging schools opened campuses for secular organizations such as the Girl Scouts but in 2023 denied spaces to Good News Clubs, which had held weekly club meetings at a number of Oakland schools for a decade before pandemic shutdowns. Lawyers from the conservative nonprofit Liberty Counsel representing the fellowship argued in their December lawsuit that the Oakland district, which has 45,000 students, is 'showing hostility towards the religious identity, speech, and viewpoint' of the organization and the district was violating a variety of its liberties including its free speech and equal protection rights. 'It is not clear how much of a dispute actually exists here,' U.S. District Judge Haywood S. Gilliam said. 'The Court finds that the law and facts clearly favor Plaintiff's position that OUSD violated CEF's free speech rights.' The district 'appears' to argue its schools had no space to offer the fellowship, according to the court order. The district then appears to pivot its argument, suggesting that providing the fellowship with campus space would violate the Establishment Clause because the ministry's programming is from a Christian viewpoint. Gilliam relied on Supreme Court precedent that rejected a similar argument. Liberty Counsel is now seeking a permanent ruling, cementing their access to Oakland school campuses for its after school clubs, which it says provide students with religious and other teaching to encourage moral and character development, learning and spiritual growth. 'This is a great victory for Child Evangelism Fellowship, parents, and the students in Oakland public schools,' said Mat Staver, Liberty Counsel founder and chairman. 'The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that public schools cannot discriminate against Christian viewpoints regarding use of school facilities. Child Evangelism Fellowship gives children a biblically based education that includes moral and character development. Good News Clubs should be in every public elementary school.'
