In a landmark 6-3 decision on June 27, 2025, the Supreme Court ruled in Mahmoud v. Taylor that parents have a constitutional right to opt their children out of public-school lessons involving LGBTQ-themed storybooks on religious grounds.
Writing for the majority, Justice Samuel Alito held that Montgomery County, Maryland’s policy of requiring elementary students to participate in instruction featuring these books without allowing religious exemptions violated the First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause.
Several of the titles at the center of Mahmoud v. Taylor have also appeared in similar lawsuits across the country, where parents, both Christian and Muslim, have sought to either remove the books entirely or at least retain the right to opt their children out.
The specific books that sparked the legal battle in Montgomery County included Uncle Bobby’s Wedding (kindergarten), about a girl adjusting to her uncle’s marriage to another man; Prince & Knight (first grade), a fairy tale romance between two men; and Born Ready (second grade), the story of a transgender child.
Other titles that have drawn objections include Love, Violet, about a girl nervous to give a valentine to another girl, and Pride Puppy, an alphabet book about a dog lost during a Pride parade.
Books challenged by parents elsewhere include Lawn Boy, Gender Queer: A Memoir, and All Boys Aren’t Blue, all of which feature explicit sexual content and gender identity themes.
Elementary and middle-grade books like King and King, Melissa (formerly George), and Julián Is a Mermaid have also faced legal and school board challenges.
Other contested titles include This Book Is Gay, ABC Pride, Heartstopper, Fun Home, It’s Perfectly Normal (a sex education book), Baby Be-Bop, The Drowning of Stephan Jones, and The Education of Harriet Hatfield.
Ironically, many on the political left who support these materials in schools also support Hamas and now Iran, often dismissing legitimate national security concerns as Islamophobia.
Yet many Muslim parents object to LGBTQ-themed books on the same religious grounds as Christians. In societies where girls are expected to cover themselves, much of what takes place at a Pride parade would be considered heretical, and in some Islamic countries, even criminal under Sharia law.
The Court found that the school district’s refusal to provide opt-outs “places an unconstitutional burden on the parents’ rights to the free exercise of their religion” by forcing children to engage with content that “poses a very real threat of undermining the religious beliefs and practices that the parents wish to instill.”
The three liberal justices dissented, with Justice Sonia Sotomayor warning that the ruling would create “chaos for this nation’s public schools.”
Initially, the school district followed its “Guidelines for Respecting Religious Diversity” and allowed parents to opt their children out of lessons involving these books, similar to existing opt-outs for sex education classes.
However, in March 2023, citing logistical concerns and fears of stigmatizing LGBTQ students, the school board eliminated the opt-out mechanism entirely, declaring that students could not be excused “for any reason.”
This decision prompted immediate backlash, with over 1,000 parents signing petitions and dozens appearing at heated school board meetings throughout the summer of 2023.
Although Mahmoud v. Taylor focused on Montgomery County, the broader battle over LGBTQ content in schools has played out nationwide, and under the Biden administration, some parents’ efforts to challenge these policies triggered federal investigations.
Across the country, parents, especially conservative Christians, voiced objections to school curricula promoting LGBTQ themes, along with other concerns such as mask mandates, vaccine requirements, anti-racism courses, and diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
Many of these protests occurred during public school board meetings, where parents spoke out against books and lessons they felt undermined their religious or moral values.
In response to the rising number of school board protests, the National School Boards Association (NSBA) sent a letter to the Department of Justice requesting that the federal government investigate certain parents under the Patriot Act, characterizing their activities as potential “domestic terrorism.” . . .
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