Parents File Lawsuit Over School Board Forcing Students To Attend Pride Storybook Time

A group of both Christian and Muslim parents are suing the Montgomery County Board of Education in Maryland for removing their right to opt their young children out of gender identity lessons including transitioning.

The lawsuit alleges that the district’s policy violates their faith and infringes upon their First Amendment rights.

Parents were sent an email on March 23 informing them that they would not be notified about gender identity lessons ocurring at the district’s schools. It also removed opt out option for parents to choose to have their kids not be present during these classes or read the material.

Parents took a stand at board meetings to protest the decision. Despite vocal protests from over 70 parents, their concerns were dismissed, prompting the legal challenge.

Eric Baxter, vice president and senior counsel at Becket Law, the firm representing the families, emphasized the board’s violation of its own parental opt-out policies.

“They can’t legally work around their own parental opt-out policies,” Baxter told the Daily Caller.

“By ending the opt-out guidelines, the County violated the Constitution, Maryland law, and its own policies. That’s why we’re bringing this lawsuit,” Baxter continued.

The controversy stems from the introduction of new books during the fall semester of 2022, which cover subjects such as transitioning, pride parades, and preferred pronouns.

Do you think kindergarteners should be taught about gender identity at school?

One of the books in question, “Pride Puppy,” targets children aged 3 and 4 and has them search for terms like “intersex flag,” “drag queen,” “underwear,” and “leather” in a word list.

One book, Pride Puppy, tasks three- and four-year-olds to search for images from a word list that includes “intersex flag,” “drag queen,” “underwear,” “leather,” and the name of a celebrated LGBTQ activist and sex worker. pic.twitter.com/5zrCiDAVOv

— BECKET (@BECKETlaw) May 24, 2023

Similarly, the book “Born Ready,” intended for fifth-graders, promotes the concept of “gender transitioning” and encourages teachers to affirm a child’s chosen identity.

According to the lawsuit, a presentation accompanying “Born Ready” states, “When we are born, people make a guess about our gender and label us ‘boy’ or ‘girl’ based on our body parts… Our body parts do not decide our gender. Our gender comes from inside—we might feel different than what people tell us we are. We know ourselves best.”

One book, Pride Puppy, tasks three- and four-year-olds to search for images from a word list that includes “intersex flag,” “drag queen,” “underwear,” “leather,” and the name of a celebrated LGBTQ activist and sex worker. pic.twitter.com/5zrCiDAVOv

— BECKET (@BECKETlaw) May 24, 2023

Prior to the board’s email on March 23, the policy committed to accommodating religious beliefs and practices. However, parents who expressed objections to the material and sought alternative assignments were met with resistance from school administrators.

Montgomery County Public Schools refused to support parents opting out of the gender identity curriculum, and teachers were not required to provide alternative assignments.

According to Baxter, “One board member accused parents that allowing opt-outs, even for kindergarteners, is just telling that kid, ‘Here’s another reason to hate another person.’”

Baxter noted the irony of the situation, stating, “All the parents in the lawsuit could opt-out until the County decided on March 23 to bypass their own guidelines and end the opt-out policy…the School Board is saying that high school students can still opt out of sex-ed classes while it is pushing more extreme ideology into kindergarten storytime.”

This lawsuit is just another example of the battle parents are facing to preserve their rights as parents, religious freedom, and the boundaries of education.

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