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'Very slippery slope' | Parents wait for decision on Montgomery County LGBTQ+ curriculum opt-out procedures

Parents' lawsuit says the school system's refusal to allow children to opt out of LGBTQ lessons violates religious rights

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. — A U.S. District Court judge has promised to decide whether to slap an injunction to block a Montgomery County Public Schools policy refusing to allow religious parents to opt out of LGBTQ lessons before the beginning of classes on August 28.

A group of parents has sued saying the school system’s refusal to let them opt out of LGBTQ lessons for kids as young as PreK is an unconstitutional infringement of their religious liberty.

Both sides argued their case on the injunction in front of U.S. District Court Judge Deborah Boardman.

“We're not challenging the curriculum," the parents' attorney Eric Baxter told reporters outside court. "We're not asking the court to take these books out of the school. We want to respect the rights of parents to have the instruction they want for their children. But we are asking the parents who have an objection to be allowed to let their kids opt out of this instruction. That right is protected by Maryland law, which says the school boards are required to provide opt-out procedures for any instruction that touches family life and human sexuality.”

In court, lawyers for Montgomery County Public Schools argued that exposure to offensive ideas does not violate the Constitution while pointing out that religious parents can’t opt out of science lessons on evolution either.

“This is part of the bargain in going to public school”, MCPS’ lawyer said. "Nothing prevents religious parents from teaching different values at home."

Outside the U.S. District Courthouse in Greenbelt a group of parents supported the stories read to their kids from books like "My Rainbow," which is about a young girl announcing to her mother that she is transgender. LGBTQ advocate Phillip Alexander Downie called allowing religious parents to opt out of such readings a "very slippery slope".

"When you talk about opting out young people from other diverse communities, then where does that end?"

MCPS is refusing to allow opting out because “schools could not accommodate the growing number of opt out requests” according to court filings.

Maryland law requires schools to establish opt-out policies for health and sex education. But MCPS argues that LGBTQ storybooks are part of the English language curriculum where opt-out is not required.

WATCH NEXT: Parents want to opt their children out of LGBTQ+ curriculum in Maryland

Parents say they want the choice to opt their child OUT of reading LGBTQ-inclusive material. Melissa Kim stopped by a large protest to talk with people on both sides

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