A court in Maryland ruled Wednesday that parents do not have the right to pull their children out of elementary school classes that include LGBT literature.
The 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that elementary schools in the Montgomery County Public School district are not required to allow parents who object to the teaching of LGBT ideology to opt their children out of LGBT-themed classes, according to The Christian Post.
The author of the majority opinion, Circuit Judge G. Steven Agee, argued that evidence was too scant to justify a preliminary injunction against the district while the case was under consideration, The Christian Post reported. (RELATED: Teachers Rans LGBT Education Program At Dallas School Without Approval: REPORT)
Maryland’s largest school district doesn’t have to allow opt-outs of LGBT teachings: appeals court https://t.co/fHPI1MbAAM
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Judge Agee, a George W. Bush-era appointee, wrote that the court took “no view” on any potential future objections to how the texts are being used, but at this stage, parents haven’t had the opportunity to gather sufficient evidence to challenge the Board’s decision, according to the outlet.
Considering the parents’ “broad claims” and the “high burden” needed to grant a preliminary injunction, as well as the thin record before the court, Judge Agee wrote that “we are constrained to affirm the district court’s order denying a preliminary injunction.”
The author of the dissenting opinion, Circuit Judge A. Marvin Quattlebaum Jr., argued that the parents successfully presented the case that the board’s decision to deny religious opt-outs restricted “these parents’ right to exercise their religion” and burdened them with choosing to either compromise “their religious beliefs” or give up their children’s public education.
Quattlebaum, a Trump appointee, added, “They do not claim the use of the books is itself unconstitutional. And they do not seek to ban them. Instead, they only want to opt their children out of the instruction involving such texts.”
“The court just told thousands of Maryland parents they have no say in what their children are taught in public schools,” the parents’ lawyer, Eric Baxter, told The Hill. “That runs contrary to the First Amendment, Maryland law, the School Board’s own policies, and basic human decency.”
Baxter said the parents would appeal the decision, The Christian Post reported.