The U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling on Wednesday in a case arising from Montgomery County, Maryland, that will have broad and devastating implications for parental rights.
In a 2-1 ruling, a three-judge panel ruled that parents who send their children to school in the Maryland county are not entitled to a religious exemption allowing them to opt their children out of certain lessons involving LGBT content. The majority was written by a George W. Bush-appointed judge who was joined by a Biden appointee. An appointee of former President Donald Trump dissented in the case.
The lawsuit was brought by a coalition of parents of various faith backgrounds who objected to a series of LGBT storybooks in elementary school classrooms. The school district had granted an opt-out for such lessons but withdrew it in 2023. After a district court ruled against the parents, an appeal…
