Maryland parents have a religious right to withdraw their children from classes on days that stories with gay and transgender themes are discussed, the court ruled.
Parents with religious objections to storybooks with L.G.B.T.Q. themes may withdraw their children from public schools when the books are discussed, the Supreme Court ruled on Friday.
Ruling in a case brought by Maryland parents who objected to books with gay and transgender characters, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. closely analyzed the messages the books conveyed, reproducing color images from them in an appendix to his opinion, and noted that they were written for young readers.
But the logic of Justice Alito’s majority opinion in the 6-to-3 decision seemed to sweep quite broadly, allowing parents with religious objections to demand that their children not be instructed about gay and transgender themes but also about many other topics.
Indeed, some legal scholars said the ruling would have broad consequences for the ability of public schools to manage their curriculums. In earlier cases, parents unsuccessfully challenged storybooks about wizards and giants along with course materials on yoga, evolution and women working outside the home. Under Justice Alito’s reasoning, legal experts said, those lawsuits might now succeed.
“This decision succeeds in opening Pandora’s box in countless classrooms located in our nation’s public schools,” said Justin Driver, a law professor at Yale. “It unwisely grants parents and students the authority to, in effect, veto individual school lessons and assignments, thereby wreaking educational havoc.”
A lawyer for the parents, Eric Baxter of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, welcomed the decision.
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