Six parents in Maryland are suing their children’s school board after their school allegedly forced their young children to read “Pride-themed books. That compulsory reading of “Pride” material occured without parental knowledge, the lawsuit alleges.
The three couples filed their lawsuit on Tuesday in federal court, suing the Montgomery County Board of Education and alleging that the board violated their parental rights by forcing the kids to read “Pride”-themed books without their parents’ knowledge.
“This lawsuit against the Montgomery County Board of Education and its superintendent and board members (collectively, the “School Board”) is about whether parents have the right to opt their children out of classroom instruction regarding family life and human sexuality,” the lawsuit states.
“Now, [the school board] claims authority to introduce pre-K and elementary school kids to certain books (the “Pride Storybooks”) that promote one-sided transgender ideology, encourage gender transitioning, and focus excessively on romantic infatuation—with no parental notification or opportunity to opt out,” it continues.
“[The parents] are united in the conviction that the Pride Storybooks are age inappropriate and inconsistent with their religious beliefs and practices and their child-raising philosophies,” it continues.
Giving an example of the sort of material the kids were allegedly required to read without the consent of their parents, the lawsuit then provides, “For example, one book invites three- and four-year-olds to look for images of things they might find at a pride parade, including an ‘intersex [flag],’ a ‘[drag] king’ and ‘[drag] queen,’ ‘leather,’ ‘underwear,’ and an image of a celebrated LGBTQ activist and sex worker, ‘Marsha P. Johnson.'”
“Another book, for fifth graders, advocates a child-knows-best approach to gender transitioning, telling students that a decision to transition doesn’t have to ‘make sense’ and that students are the best ‘teacher’ on such matters, not parents or other adults,” the lawsuit adds.
Another example, contained later in the lawsuit, says, “For children in pre-K and Head Start programs, the
School Board approved Pride Puppy, a book relating the story of two women taking their children to a pride parade, where their puppy gets lost.”
Giving still another example, the lawsuit also provides that “My Rainbow tells the story of an elementary-age, autistic, boy who believes that short hair keeps him from being a real girl. When the mother points to her own short hair, he responds ‘People don’t care if cisgender girls like you have short hair. But it’s different
for transgender girls. I need long hair!’ The mother concludes that her son knows best and sews him a rainbow-colored wig.”
The lawsuit also alleges that the parents were told their kids cannot opt-out and they could not opt their kids out of reading such materials, saying, “Now the Parents have been told that, next year, no notice will be given and no opt-outs tolerated because their kids must learn to be more ‘LGBTQ-Inclusive.‘”
The parents should have a good case, as Maryland law states that parents may “object to instructional material and other materials, … if the objection is based on beliefs regarding morality, religion, philosophy, any fundamental value system deemed important by a parent, or the belief that the materials are harmful.”
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