A group of parents in Montgomery County cannot require the school board to provide notice of LGBTQ-inclusive books or an opt-out option, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit ruled Wednesday.
In a 2-1 decision with Judge G. Steven Agee writing for the majority, the 4th Circuit affirmed the parents have not met their burden to obtain a preliminary injunction, finding the parents did not prove that discussions about the books are pressuring students to change their views or act contrary to their faith.
The 4th Circuit affirmed the district court’s decision, finding the parents have not shown they’re likely to succeed on their arguments that use of the books and parents’ inability to have notice and an opportunity to opt their children out of classroom instruction incorporating the books violates federal and state constitutional provisions — namely, the free exercise clause.
“What is missing here is the evidentiary link showing that the [books] are being implemented in a way that directly or indirectly coerces the Parents of their children to believe or act contrary to their religious faith,” Agee wrote. “Without such evidence, this case presents only an objection to their children’s public school curriculum.”
The appellate court further opined that “granting a preliminary injunction would reset the standard, permitting plaintiffs to obtain a preliminary injunction upon a mere showing that they have a religious objection to their children’s curriculum.” Case law does not support that outcome, the court wrote.
William Haun, counsel for the group of parents and senior counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, said his clients will be appealing the 4th Circuit’s decision to the nation’s highest court.
“I think what happened is that the court told Montgomery County families that they have no say in what their children are taught in public schools,” Haun said. “That understanding violates the 1st Amendment, it violates Maryland law, and it violates the board’s own policies in addition to basic human decency.”
Haun cited Judge A. Marvin Quattlebaum’s dissent, noting many families have no choice but to send their children to public school. The fact that parents don’t have input as to what their children learn is inconsistent with federal and state law, Haun said.
“In Montgomery County public schools, you can opt out of every other kind of instruction,” Haun said, noting this includes events such as Halloween parties, Valentine’s Day and music class. “The board has never explained why it just pulled the rug out from underneath the parents.”
Counsel for Montgomery County public school officials and the Montgomery County Board of Education did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.
In 2022, the Montgomery County school board announced its approval of LGBTQ-inclusive books as part of the English language arts curriculum for the county’s public schools. Intended to help students master reading concepts, the books portray LGBTQ characters in various situations.
According to the opinion, during the first year of the books’ use in the curriculum, parents were provided notice and the opportunity to “opt out” of their use through agreements with individual principals and teachers. But after reiterating this policy in March 2023, the school board the next day announced a change in policy that notice and an opt-out option would no longer be permitted.
Two months later, the parents brought this suit in federal court, alleging violations of the parents’ and their children’s rights to free exercise, free speech, due process and Maryland state law.
In his dissent, Quattlebaum found the parents have shown that the board’s decision to deny religious opt-outs burdened their right to exercise their religion and direct their children’s religious upbringing.
“The board’s refusal to grant the parents’ requests for religious opt-outs to instruction with the books the board required be used to promote diversity and inclusivity to the LGBTQ+ community forces the parents to make a choice — either adhere to their faith or receive a free public education for their children,” Quattlebaum wrote. “They cannot do both.”
Quattlebaum also wrote that the parents have established they are likely to succeed in proving the board’s decisions burdened their First Amendment rights, opining that he would have granted the parents a preliminary injunction.
The Montgomery County school board has had other federal challenges to its policies regarding the LGBTQ-inclusive books, including from two county residents who sued the school board last year for denying them access to a board meeting as media members. The pair alleged the board wanted to avoid public criticism of its policies regarding the books.
That case is currently pending in the district court, according to court records.
