[March 11, 2025] Southeastern Legal Foundation (SLF) joined a coalition of organizations in filing an amicus (friend of the court) brief in the Supreme Court in support of parents challenging the Montgomery County, Maryland School Board’s overreach in disregarding parental rights and forcing LGBTQ instructional materials in elementary school curriculum.
The Montgomery County School Board had approved “more than 22 LGBTQ texts” for the elementary classroom, claiming Maryland law requires schools to “provide a comprehensive health education.” However, Maryland law explicitly requires schools to give parents notice and the right to review instructional materials related to “family life and human sexuality” and opt their children out of such lessons. The Board claims that these “LGBTQ texts” fall outside these opt-out guidelines because the texts are categorized under the English curriculum as well.
Some of the books that have raised concerns with the parents in the district include Pride Puppy which “… invites students to search for various images, including ‘underwear,’ ‘leather,’ ‘lip ring,’ ‘[drag] king’ and ‘[drag] queen..’ Pride Puppy is intended for three and four year olds. This book, along with many others, listed here, contains content that parents believe are inappropriate for their children; however, Montgomery County has restricted their rights and denied them the ability to opt their kids out.
SLF argues that the School Board’s policy infringes upon the constitutional rights of parents to direct the upbringing and education of their children, a fundamental right deeply rooted in American tradition. The coalition brief states, “They [the parents] do not expect school administrators and teachers with an agenda to undermine their children’s basic understanding of reality.” SLF points to specific classroom directives that require teachers to instruct young students that “our body parts do not decide our gender” and that gender is merely a “guess” at birth. Such teachings, SLF argues, amounts to “fashionable sexual brainwashing of children…”
SLF asserts that this policy violates the First Amendment by compelling families to accept teachings that may contradict their beliefs. As the Supreme Court has made clear, “It is cardinal with us that the custody, care and nurture of the child reside first in the parents, whose primary function and freedom … the state can neither supply nor hinder.”
SLF is urging the Supreme Court to reinforce long-standing constitutional protections for parents, uphold their right to guide their children’s upbringing, and stop the forced ideological indoctrination in public schools.
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