Parents suing a Maryland school district for requiring students to participate in reading lessons featuring LGBTQ+ themes filed a motion for an injunction asking for the right to immediately opt their children out of the lessons.
Three families suing Montgomery County Public Schools leaders say the school district is breaking Maryland state law that says students are allowed to opt out of sex education. Some parents say the books go against their religious values.
MCPS attorneys argued Wednesday the books only feature LGBTQ+ characters and are not sex education, and the school district argues it is just teaching tolerance.
Dozens of parents protesting MCPS and its use of inclusive books with LGBTQ+ themes gathered outside federal court Wednesday.
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“We want to be able to be in control of what our children are learning in school,” father Dagmawi Lakew said.
“You feel like your rights as a parent are just being stripped away,” he said.
The books include “Pride Puppy” for preschoolers and “Uncle Bobby’s Wedding” for kindergarten through fifth grade.
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“We're here to represent the right of parents to protect their religious training and upbringing of their children,” plaintiffs’ attorney Eric Baxter said.
MCPS pointed to a book that says it’s hurtful to call a transgender classmate “weird.” They said exposure to different viewpoints is “part of the bargain of going to public school” and said, for instance, parents cannot opt out from lessons on evolution.
LGBTQ+ rights activists also showed up to court to make their voices heard.
“We know how important it is for young people to see mirrors of themselves in adulthood,” said Lee Blinder, co-chair of Coalition for Inclusive Schools and Communities. “it's an experience I didn't have growing up as a queer and trans person in Montgomery County.”
“We need to celebrate and uplift and show lots of representation of all of our amazing, diverse identities and communities that we live in,” said Phillip Alexander Downie, co-chair of Coalition for Inclusive Schools and Communities.
The judge said she will issue a ruling on the injunction by the start of the schoolyear Aug. 28.
“We appreciate the thoughtful and thorough proceedings in the courtroom today and respect Judge Boardman’s necessary and deliberate process to reach a decision in this matter,” MCPS said in a statement.
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