On Jan. 17, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear Mahmoud v. Taylor, the case of three families against the Montgomery County Board of Education in Maryland: a Muslim family, a Roman Catholic family, and a mixed Roman Catholic–Ukrainian Orthodox family. This isn’t the start of a bad joke, but parents fighting to teach their children according to their sincerely held religious beliefs.
It all started in 2022 when Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) — the largest public school district in the state — approved a slate of queer-affirming storybooks for use in grades as low as kindergarten. The district promised parents the opportunity to review the books and the ability to opt their children out of those classes. Later in the school year, without explanation, MCPS reversed its policy, in spite of parental objections. The families filed suit, seeking a temporary injunction against the policy.
District…
