The case known as Mahmoud v. McKnight began when Montgomery County Public Schools took away the right of parents to get advanced notice and opt their children out of one-sided instruction on family life and human sexuality.
Specifically at issue is the series of "inclusivity" books that instructs pre-K through eighth grade students in sexual orientation and gender ideology.
In one instance, 1,000 people showed up at a school board meeting to protest this policy. Even so, a lower court upheld a storybook mandate.
Attorney William Haun of Becket, the law firm representing the parents, says, "For as much as these parents may have theological differences, what they all agree on is that parents are the primary educators of their children. They are the first teachers, and it's the job of public schools to partner with the parents in the education of their children."
But unfortunately, he says, Montgomery County has cut the parents out.
"The school board had provided these opt-outs until March 23rd of this year," Haun reports. "There were no issues with that, [but] they were just taken away with no explanation as to why."
Meanwhile, because the First Amendment guarantees the right of parents to direct the religious upbringing of their children, the attorney points out that the school board is violating the Constitution.
"The school board has decided to exclude the parents from their children's education in a way that harms their faith," he summarizes.
The appeal was filed earlier this week. AFN is seeking comment from Superintendent Monifa McKnight and/or Montgomery County Public Schools.
