Montgomery County Public Schools must pay $1.5 million in damages and implement court-enforced safeguards for parental notification and opt-outs, following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling affirming parents’ First Amendment rights in a dispute over LGBTQ-themed classroom materials.
The settlement resolves a lawsuit brought by Muslim, Christian and Jewish parents after the Montgomery County Board of Education rescinded a policy that allowed families advance notice of—and the option to excuse their children from—lessons addressing gender identity, pronouns and Pride events.
Parents, represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, argued that removing the opt-out policy forced children to participate in instruction that conflicted with their families’ religious beliefs, thereby violating their constitutional right to direct their children’s religious upbringing.
In a 6-3 decision in June, the Supreme Court sided with the parents. Justice Samuel Alito wrote that “the right of parents to direct the religious upbringing of their children would be an empty promise if it did not follow those children into the public school classroom.”
The court ruled that requiring participation in instruction that contradicts sincerely held religious beliefs—without notice or an opt-out—places an unconstitutional burden on religious exercise.
Under the settlement and a permanent injunction, the Montgomery County Board of Education must now provide advance notice when lessons involve topics such as family life or sexuality and allow parents to excuse their children, according to the Becket Fund. The district will remain under court supervision to ensure compliance.
Eric Baxter, senior counsel at Becket and lead attorney for the families, said the ruling “ensures parents, not government bureaucrats, have the final say in how their children are raised.”
