This fall, students are returning to class in the wake of yet another blow to public education: the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Mahmoud v. Taylor. There, a group of parents sued Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) in Maryland, claiming that by refusing their requests to opt their children out of classes in which teachers read storybooks with LGBTQI+ characters, MCPS unconstitutionally burdened their religious free exercise rights. In June, the Supreme Court agreed, holding that MCPS was required to give parents these opt outs. As the school year begins, it is critical to clarify the bounds of the decision so students’ safety and freedom to learn is not further jeopardized. 

Even though the Court said only that MCPS must extend opt-outs to the group of parents suing so their children could be excused from class whenever storybooks with LGBTQI+ characters are read, far-right extremists will be poised to fearmonger and pressure schools to inappropriately expand the decision to do even more harm to students.  

To prepare students, parents, school staff, local faith leaders, and local advocates for countering efforts to wrongly expand the Mahmoud decision, NWLC has created a resource that breaks down what the decision does and doesn’t do. The resource also features talking points and a template letter that can be used for advocating before school boards, including explaining that conceding to demands to use the Mahmoud decision to enable censorship and discrimination is unnecessary and goes against schools’ legal and ethical responsibilities to ensure safe learning environments. Read more about how you can prepare for these fights in our resource here. 

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If I’m a student or teacher impacted by harassment or discrimination as a result of the decision, how can I find a lawyer? One option for finding a lawyer is to contact the Legal Network for Gender Equity at the National Women’s Law Center. The Legal Network connects people facing sex discrimination at work, at school, and when accessing health care with legal help. Lawyers in the Legal Network provide free initial legal consultations to people connected to them through the Legal Network. To request legal help through the Legal Network for Gender Equity, fill out an online intake form here.