Montgomery County in Maryland has agreed to pay $1.5 million in damages to a group of religious parents who sued the county over a policy that denied them the ability to opt their children out of lessons addressing gender and sexuality.
On Friday, Montgomery County Board of Education agreed to the settlement following last year’s Supreme Court ruling in Mahmoud v. Taylor, which affirmed parents’ rights to opt their children out of LGBTQ-themed classroom materials that conflicted with their religious beliefs. In a 6–3 decision, Justice Samuel Alito wrote, “The books are unmistakably normative. They are designed to present certain values and beliefs as things to be celebrated, and certain contrary values and beliefs as things to be rejected.”
Under the settlement and permanent injunction, religious parents will receive advance notice when class instruction may involve topics of gender identity, sexuality and pronouns. Parents will also be given the opportunity to opt their children out of those lessons. The sum of $1.5 million “will be given to the plaintiffs in the case,” according to Becket, who represented the religious families.
“Public schools nationwide are on notice: running roughshod over parental rights and religious freedom isn’t just illegal — it’s costly,” said Eric Baxter, senior counsel at Becket and lead attorney for the parents, in a press release announcing the settlement. “This settlement enforces the Supreme Court’s ruling and ensures parents, not government bureaucrats, have the final say in how their children are raised.”
The agreement essentially reinstates the district’s prior policy. Before 2023, parents who objected to storybook discussions addressing gender identity could opt their children out of related lessons. But that year, the district reversed the policy, calling the opt-out system “unworkable.”
In response, a coalition of Muslim, Christian and Jewish parents filed suit, originating Mahmoud v. Taylor. The parents argued that they didn’t want the books to be removed from the curriculum, but only to have the option of opting their children out of those specific classes. “We never asked to change the curriculum,” Wael Elkoshairi, a Muslim father who has been homeschooling his daughter, told Deseret News last year. “All we asked for is an accommodation.”
The books at the heart of the case involved “Uncle Bobby’s Wedding” about same-sex marriage and a book called “Born Ready” that follows a transgender child. Prior to the verdict to allow the opt-outs, religious parents adapted by homeschooling or putting their kids in religious schools. Billy Moges, the director of parent group Kids First and one of the plaintiffs, told Deseret News last year that the case was more than a “journey” for religious parents. “This is eternity.”
The Montgomery County is focused on implementing the opt-out process and putting in place thorough communication, according to Liliana López, the spokesperson for Montgomery County Public Schools.
“With the legal process concluded, our focus remains on the steps that we have taken to meet the Court’s mandate,” López wrote in an email to Deseret News. “We have implemented proactive measures to ensure compliance and improve responsiveness. This work is ongoing, and we remain dedicated to partnering with our families to guarantee we are moving forward in a way that aligns with the Court’s decision.”
The county plans to communicate about the scheduled storybook discussions every quarter through its website, “so families can make decisions concerning instructional material that may substantially interfere with their religious beliefs.”
Baxter praised the parents’ courage and said the victory “reshaped the law and ensured that generations of religious parents will be able to guide their children’s upbringing according to their faith.”