SCOTUS Ruling Opens Door to Erasure of LGBTQIA+ Topics in Schools

WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 27, 2025) — All students deserve to see their families and experiences reflected in their school curricula. But today, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Mahmoud v. Taylor that parents in Montgomery County, Maryland, can pull their children out of the classroom anytime LGBTQIA+ people are acknowledged so long as parents claim it violates their religious beliefs. 

Fatima Goss Graves, CEO and president of the National Women’s Law Center, issued the following statement in response:

“Today’s ruling reflects the latest harmful step by the far-right to remove marginalized groups from public conversation and prevent the next generation from understanding — and valuing — the true diversity of this country. The impact of this decision cannot be overstated, as the door is now open for extremists to misuse religion and claim that it allows them to undermine education on any topic they don’t like, sowing fear and division in the classroom. Ultimately, this will make it harder for teachers to teach and students to feel seen and affirmed. All young people deserve a safe learning environment where they can receive equitable, culturally relevant, and historically accurate education — this ruling does not change that. 

“No matter what the Supreme Court has said, and what extremist groups are advocating for, book bans and other censorship will not erase LGBTQIA+ people from our communities.  Schools should reaffirm their responsibility to ensure that every student — no matter who they are or what family they come from — can feel seen, safe, and valued in school.”

NWLC joined Lambda Legal’s amicus brief along with the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and PFLAG in support of inclusive public education in this case.