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On Tuesday, April 22, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in Mahmoud v. Taylor, a very important case with a huge impact on parental rights, religious freedom, and school curriculum.
Pray for your fellow intercessor.
The Justices will determine if a parent’s First Amendment rights are violated by the Montgomery County, MD School District’s refusal to allow parents to opt their children out of the K-5 public school curriculum that is in opposition to their religious beliefs.
Can parents opt their children out of LGBTQ+ curriculum?
In 2022, the Montgomery County Board of Education in Maryland – one of the most liberal counties in America with the largest school district in the state – added new “inclusivity” books for K-5 students to its classroom curriculum.
Here is a sampling of the books, along with a brief description:
Born Ready: The True Story of a Boy Named Penelope: Penelope knows she’s a boy, but the problem is getting others to realize it. Children become stronger when they are true to themselves and who they really are. “Shines with joy and affirmation.”
Jacob’s Room to Choose: Bathroom that is. With the help of his teacher and administration, Jacob leads change at his school. An “encouraging” story of the many forms of gender expression.
Love, Violet: Little Violet is in love with Mira. Does she have the courage to share her heart? “A sweetly empathetic, child friendly, girl-girl romance.”
What Are Your Words?: An introduction to gender-inclusive pronouns for all ages.
The district’s communications director, Jessica Baxter, said the books tell “joyful stories of folks who happen to be part of the LGBTQ+ community,” and that they “celebrate and positively portray LGBTQ+ identities.”
Christian, Jewish, and Muslim parents in Montgomery County did not want their young children reading these books. However, the school district banned parents from opting their children out of classes where the books were taught. Why?
Education or Indoctrination?
The District School Board said, “Individual schools could not accommodate the growing number of opt-out requests without causing significant disruptions to the classroom environment.”
Does this mean way too many parents were asking to opt out, conflicting with the district’s LGBTQ+ indoctrination plans? The School Board said the opt-out ban was due to the “unworkable burdens” that high opt-out volumes put on educators. So instead of listening to parents, they rescinded the school’s opt-out policy.
In addition, the school district had also issued guidance (or indoctrination points) to teachers on how to talk to students about LGBTQ+ issues raised in the books, such as…
If a student says that “a girl… can only like boys because she’s a girl,” the teacher can “disrupt the either/or thinking by saying something like: “actually, people of any gender can like whoever they like… How do you think it would make __(character’s name)__ to hear you say that? Do you think it’s fair for people to decide for us who we can and can’t like?”
Maryland is a deep blue state. Unlike in red states, these blue-state parents are not asking for the books to be banned in school. They simply want the opt-out policy to be reinstated. Their question before the Supreme Court is this…
“Do public schools burden parents’ religious exercise when they compel elementary school children to participate in instruction on gender and sexuality against their parents’ religious convictions and without notice or opportunity to opt out?”
Mahmoud v. Taylor Timeline
In March of 2023, the School Board stopped notifying parents and rescinded the school’s opt-out policy for classroom lessons on gender and sexuality.
One Board member justified the decision by saying allowing opt-outs because these books “offend your religious rights or your family values or your core beliefs is just telling your kid, ‘Here’s another reason to hate another person.’
Three sets of parents filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of Maryland on May 24, 2023. They argued that their children’s participation in reading these LGBTQ+ books violated their right to raise their children according to their faith’s teachings on gender identity and sexuality. They also argued that the books were not age-appropriate for their young children. The Court ruled against the parents.
The parents appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. In May of 2024, the Appeals Court agreed with the lower court’s decision denying the parents’ request for reinstatement of the opt-out policy. The Court affirmed parents have no right to be notified or opt their kids out of classrooms where these storybooks were used to indoctrinate gender and human sexuality.
On September 12, 2024, the parents filed a petition to the Supreme Court, which was granted on January 17, 2025. Oral arguments are scheduled for Tuesday, April 22, 2025.
An Outpouring of Support
The parents are not alone. The Solicitor-General of the United States has submitted an amicus brief, known as a friend of the court brief, in support of the parents and religious freedom. In addition, 26 states, 66 members of Congress and 35 members of the Maryland’s state legislature.
Religious groups and legal scholars have filed as well, including Christian Legal Society, Parents Defending Education, Maryland Family Institute, National Religious Broadcasters, American Center for Law and Justice, Conference of Catholic Bishops, The Jewish Coalition for Religious Liberty, Focus on the Family, National Association of Evangelicals, and so many more.
“As this outpouring of support makes clear, parents don’t take a backseat to anyone when it comes to raising their kids,” said Eric Baxter, vice president and senior counsel at Becket, the law firm representing concerned parents. “Montgomery County’s decision to run roughshod over parental rights betrays our nation’s traditions and common sense. The Justices should restore the opt-out and allow parents to raise their children according to their beliefs.”
Opposing Forces
Opposing forces have also filed briefs, including the National Education Association, which stated, “An inclusive education is fundamental to public education… The Mahmoud case is looking to ignore the expertise of trained professionals in the classrooms and have federal courts insert themselves into day-to-day educational decisions about what students can learn and what educators can teach.”
GLBTQ Legal Advocates (formerly known as GLAD) also filed an amicus brief stating that the school board’s decision to include books with references to LGBTQ people and families in its language arts curriculum is a legitimate exercise of its curricular authority.
Aaron Tang, a law professor at the University of California, fearmongers in Politico that a Supreme Court ruling in favor of the plaintiffs would “imperil evolution, biology, history and LGBTQ-inclusive lessons” in all grades, “dismantle our public schools, and “destroy public education as we know it.”
The opposing view appears to be… the state knows best, and parents have no right to say how they want their children educated. If so, as parents and people of faith… is this ‘dismantling and destruction’ the opposition is so afraid of a bad thing?
Do parents have the right to make decisions for their children?
At the heart of the Mahmoud case is the question: Do you, as a parent, have the right to raise your own child according to your beliefs and values? Or, do you turn that responsibility over to government-run public schools and teachers as the so-called experts on how to educate your child?
It strikes at the very heart of parental authority. When classroom instruction clashes with a family’s religious beliefs, whose interests prevail – the school’s or the parents?
A recent decision by the First Circuit Court of Appeals in a case in Massachusetts, Foote v. Ludlow, contained this frightening language: “Parental rights are not unlimited. Parents may not… create a preferred educational experience for their child in public school. As per our understanding of Supreme Court precedent, our pluralistic society assigns those curricular and administrative decisions to the expertise of school officials, charged with the responsibility of educating children.”
In recent years, public schools all across the nation, aided and abetted by teachers’ unions and the Obama and Biden administrations, have turned classrooms into LGBTQ+ indoctrination centers. This demonic woke ideology has nothing to do with academics, but instead undermines religious faith and freedom, as well as attacks the family structure, grooms minors into sexual activity, and confuses children as to their sexuality and gender.
Impact of the Supreme Court’s Decision
The Supreme Court could uphold religious freedom and parental rights in the education of children and reestablish the notion that children belong to their parents, not the state.
But, if the Court decides parents have no right to opt their children out of sexual, gender and other non-academic curriculum they disagree with, and schools can decide what is appropriate and “inclusive” for children, the LGBTQ+ lobby will be emboldened to further attack children and families and increase their indoctrination in pubic schools and libraries.
Not only that, but this case could also be used as a precedent to further erode parental rights in areas beyond education, such as the removal of children by the State from parents who do not affirm their child’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
It’s already happening. The Colorado House has passed a bill saying parents in custody cases can lose their child if they refuse to call them by their preferred pronouns and name. Another bill would forbid schools from misgendering or deadnaming (calling a child by their given name, not their trans name) students. Both bills are expected to become law as Democrats control the state’s House, Senate, and governorship.
In 2000, the Supreme Court in Troxel v. Granville plainly stated, “The interest of parents in the care, custody, and control of their children … is perhaps the oldest of the fundamental liberty interests recognized by this Court.”
Holy Scripture is even more explicit and true: All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children (Isaiah 54:13).
Let us Pray
Oral arguments in Mahmoud v. Taylor are set for Tuesday, April 22, 2025, at 3 pm. As intercessors, I urge you to pray for God’s righteousness and truth to prevail and for this evil attack against parents’ fundamental right to “train up your child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6) to fail.
1. Pray for God’s wisdom to fill the minds and hearts of the Justices, and in the hour of oral arguments, they will hear only the truth of God’s Word in the arguments of the parents’ attorneys and not be deceived by the lies of the School District’s attorneys. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient (Ephesians 5:6).
2. Pray that the arguments of the School District’s attorneys are confusing, making no sense before the court. May their arguments be like jarring babbling, and may they struggle in their unrighteous arguments and falter. The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences (Proverbs 18:21 NLT).
3. Pray for boldness and a sound mind for the attorneys as they defend parental rights and religious freedom, core American and biblical values. Pray for God’s favor to fall upon them. Pray that the Holy Spirit will indwell them so their arguments will be as the very words and speech of God. Pray for strength so they can win the victory in this spiritual battle. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you (James 1:5).
4. Pray that every person in the courtroom feels Your Holy Presence and fears Your judgment. Remove the forces of darkness from the courtroom, and may your Spirit of peace reign over the proceedings. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you (James 4:7).
5. Ask God to convict every member of the Supreme Court to honor God’s truth and rule righteously and according to God’s Word that children are a heritage of the Lord (Psalm 127:3) and belong to their parents first, last, and always. When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers (Proverbs 21:15).
6. Pray that the Holy Spirit will bring unity to the justices’ thinking as they seek God’s face, His Word, and His wisdom and righteousness in making their decisions. I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you (Psalm 32:8).
7. Pray for a decisive, unanimous 9-0 decision affirming the rights of parents, and the Name of the Lord will be exalted in their decision. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere (James 3:17).
Add your own prayers in the comments below.
Belinda Brewster analyzes cultural, political, and world events from a biblical worldview. Belinda’s passion is to equip, support, and encourage parents and grandparents who are courageously battling against the spiritual and cultural forces impacting children and grandchildren. Photo Credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images.