The Supreme Court has ruled parents have a right to prevent their kids from reading books with LGBTQ characters.
In the case – Mahmoud v. Taylor – a group of Christian and Muslim parents said that their First Amendment rights were violated when schools used books that included LGBTQ characters or themes.
BREAKING: Supreme Court allows Maryland parents to opt their kids out of LGBTQ+ lessons in schoolsParents in Mahmoud v. Taylor won the right to opt-out of classes where LGBTQ-themed books were taught. bit.ly/4nov9fm
[image or embed] — The Advocate (@advocate.com) June 27, 2025 at 8:15 AM
The group filed the lawsuit against the Montgomery County school system in Maryland seeking the right to be notified in advance if any school lessons might utilize books that include LGBTQ themes – like Prince & Knight and Uncle Bobby’s Wedding – and to be able to opt their kids out of those classes.
The plaintiffs didn’t specifically ask the court to ban LGBTQ topics from classrooms. But they argued that exposing children to the fact that LGBTQ+ people exist is contrary to their religious beliefs and violates their right to direct their children’s religious upbringing.
In his opinion for the majority, Justice Samuel Alito wrote:
“The Court does not accept the Board’s characterizations of the LGBTQ+-inclusive instruction as mere ‘exposure to objectionable ideas’ or as lessons in ‘mutual respect.'”
“The storybooks unmistakably convey a particular viewpoint about same-sex marriage and gender.”
Free speech advocates criticized the ruling, calling it a “deeply disappointing blow to the right to read under the First Amendment.”
Elly Brinkley, a staff attorney for PEN America said in a statement, “It is a fundamental betrayal of public schools’ duty to prepare students to live in a diverse and pluralistic society.
“By allowing parents to pull their children out of classrooms when they object to particular content, the justices are laying the foundation for a new frontier in the assault on books of all kinds in schools,” she added.
The Supreme Court ruling today mandating opt outs for children whose parents object to LGBTQ+-relevant picture books in public schools deals a deeply disappointing blow to the right to read under the First Amendment and is a betrayal of public education. pen.org/press-releas…
[image or embed] — PEN America (@penamerica.bsky.social) June 27, 2025 at 8:57 AM
NEW: In Mahmoud v. Taylor, a case about whether religious families have a First Amendment right to opt out of public school lessons involved LGBTQ themes, the court holds that the families are likely to succeed and are entitled to a preliminary injunction.
— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) June 27, 2025
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