The United States Supreme Court ruled that parents with religious objections have the right to opt out their children from lessons on LGBT issues in a Maryland school district.

The court ruled 6 to 3 in the case Mahmoud, Tamer et al. Taylor, Thomas W. et. al. that Montgomery County Public Schools, Maryland, cannot require their students to read LGBT-themed literature in the classroom.

Justice Samuel Alito wrote the majority opinion. He said, “A government burdens religious exercise when it forces parents to subject their children to instruction which poses a’very real threat’ of undermining the religious beliefs and practices the parents want to instill.

Alito continued, “And the government cannot condition free public education upon parents’ acceptance of this instruction.” We conclude, based on these principles that parents will likely succeed in challenging the Board’s policy.

In the opinion of the court, Chief Justice John Roberts, Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh were joined by Neil Gorsuch, Clarence Thomas, and Clarence Thomas.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon hailed the ruling as an important victory for freedom and parental rights.

The Supreme Court ruling in Mahmoud V. Taylor is an important victory for parental rights and religious freedom.

The Court correctly ruled that schools cannot shut out parents or ignore their religious obligations towards their children.

A wonderful day for parents, educators and champions of education! pic.twitter.com/eZkT8Qu7kY

— Secretary Linda McMahon July 27, 2025

The case was brought about by a group of parents from different religious backgrounds who, in 2023, held a large protest against the school district for refusing to let parents opt out their children of lesson materials that were religiously objectionable.

The decision of this week granted parents, on the basis of religious beliefs, a preliminary injunction against Montgomery County Public Schools’ inclusion in the curriculum, of books with LGBT themes.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Ketanji brown Jackson, and Elena Kagan joined her in the dissenting view which feared that the ruling “invents an constitutional right to prevent exposure to’subtle themes’ contrary the religious principles that parents want to instill in children.”

Sotomayor wrote: “Forcing schools to give advance notice and to offer the opportunity to opt-out of each lesson plan or storytime that could implicate parents’ religious beliefs would impose an impossible administrative burden on schools.” It is not just educators who will be affected: children will also suffer.

Parents have the rights to raise their kids according to their own faith. Grace Morrison, Montgomery County Mom and Kids First Board member, reacts to today’s powerful Supreme Court win in Mahmoud V. Taylor. pic.twitter.com/VlKP4K8TjL