Montgomery County Ordered to Pay $1.5M in LGBTQ Books Case
A federal judge ordered the payout after courts ruled the district violated parents' religious rights by denying LGBTQ lesson opt-outs.
A Maryland judge has ordered the Montgomery County Board of Education to pay $1.5 million to parents who sued the school system over its refusal to allow opt-outs from lessons involving LGBTQ-themed books.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that the county violated the religious freedom and parental rights of three families of elementary school students — one Muslim, one Catholic, and one Ukrainian Orthodox — who objected to being denied an opt-out from lessons using LGBTQ-themed books.
According to attorneys for the families in the case, Mahmoud v. Taylor, they objected to books that allegedly promoted “gender transitioning, Pride parades, and pronoun preferences to children as young as three or four years old.”
In addition to the financial judgment, U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman of the District of Maryland issued a permanent injunction barring Montgomery County Public Schools from implementing lesson plans that include books or instructional materials addressing sensitive topics — such as family life and human sexuality — without first notifying parents.
“Going forward, [Montgomery County Public Schools] must provide notice, not only to the plaintiff parents in the case, but to all parents attending MCPS schools, when sensitive content, regarding gender and sexuality, will be taught going forward at all grade levels,” Michael O’Brien, legal counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, told D.C.-area ABC affiliate WJLA.
In siding with the religious parents, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito wrote that the lack of an opt-out policy prevented parents from shielding their children from exposure to concepts that conflict with their religious beliefs, arguing that “the right of parents ‘to direct the religious upbringing of their’ children would be an empty promise if it did not follow those children into the public school classroom.”
But Justice Sonia Sotomayor, writing in dissent, warned that requiring advance notice and opt-outs for every lesson plan would “impose impossible administrative burdens” on schools. As previously reported by CBS News, MCPS stopped offering advance notice in 2023 after teachers and administrators argued the opt-outs had become “unworkable” due to high absentee rates.
If opt-outs prove difficult to administer or lead to chronic absenteeism, MCPS could ultimately remove LGBTQ-related material from its curriculum to avoid violating the injunction.
Following the Supreme Court’s ruling last year, MCPS developed the “Refrigerator Curriculum,” a set of grade-specific outlines — for students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade — listing topics and key terms that families can review at home. If parents identify a book or instructional material they believe conflicts with their “sincerely held religious beliefs,” they may submit a one-page online form requesting that their child be excused from the lesson.
To qualify for the opt-out policy, parents must submit the form within the first 10 school days of a new grading period or class. Families new to the district have 30 days to submit the form.
In a statement addressing the opt-out process now in place, MCPS said, “With the legal process concluded, our focus remains on the steps that we have taken to meet the Court’s mandate. We have implemented proactive measures to ensure compliance and improve responsiveness.”
Eric Baxter, senior counsel at Becket and the lead attorney in the case, said the judgment sends a message to school districts nationwide that failing to provide opt-outs for religious parents could carry financial consequences.
“This settlement enforces the Supreme Court’s ruling and ensures parents, not government bureaucrats, have the final say in how their children are raised,” Baxter said. “It took tremendous courage for these parents to stand up to the School Board and take their case all the way to the Supreme Court. Their victory reshaped the law and ensured that generations of religious parents will be able to guide their children’s upbringing according to their faith.”
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