Parents Sue Maryland Schools to Opt Kids Out of Mandatory “Pride” Storybooks

Same-sex relationship and marriage are totally prohibited in Islam, Christianity, and all divine religions.

To protest the recent changes to the teaching curriculum to include LGBT+ lifestyles in curriculum for children at primary schools, Muslim and Christian parents have sued the Montgomery County Board of Education to allow them to opt their children out of mandatory LGBTQ storybooks and lessons.

The lawsuit comes after district announced a new policy in March to approve 22 “LGBTQ+ inclusive texts” for grades pre-K through 8 designed to promote “inclusivity,” Washington Times reported.

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The books include “Pride Puppy” by Robin Stevenson, which “invites three- and four-year-olds to look for images of things they might find at a pride parade, including an ‘intersex [flag],’ a ‘[drag] king’ and ‘[drag] queen,’ ‘leather,’ ‘underwear,’ and an image of a celebrated LGBTQ activist and sex worker, ‘Marsha P. Johnson,’” the lawsuit states.

“After mandating new books that advocate pride parades, gender transitioning, and pronoun preferences for kids, the Board announced it would no longer follow the law: parental notice will not be provided, and opt-outs will not be tolerated,” Becket, a religious-freedom legal institute, said Wednesday in a press release.

The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in US District Court in Maryland on behalf of six Montgomery County parents: Tamer Mahmoud and Enas Barakat, Jeff and Svitlana Roman, and Chris and Melissa Persak.

“Despite faith differences, these parents believe the new storybooks are age-inappropriate, spiritually and emotionally damaging for kids and inconsistent with their religious beliefs and sound science,” the Becket release states.

“The lawsuit seeks to restore their ability to help their own children on such complex and sensitive issues.”

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Parents Role

Montgomery County has stood behind its “no opt-out” decision despite pushback from Muslim-rights advocates, who met earlier this month with district officials.

“Saying that a kindergartener can’t be present when you read a book about a rainbow unicorn because it offends your religious rights or your family values or your core beliefs is just telling that kid, ‘Here’s another reason to hate another person,’” board member Lynne Harris said, according to the lawsuit.

Eric Baxter, Becket vice president and senior counsel, rejected their argument, saying parents should provide guidance to their children freely.

“Children are entitled to guidance from their own parents, who know and love them best, regarding how they’ll be introduced to complex issues concerning gender identity, transgenderism, and human sexuality,” said Eric Baxter, Becket vice president and senior counsel.

“Forced, ideological discussions during story hour won’t cut it, and excluding parents will only hinder, not help inclusivity.”

The issue of bringing LGBT materials to schools has been a cause of concern to many Muslim parents.

At a recent school board meeting in Wilmer, Minnesota, nearly a dozen Somali American parents showed up alongside conservative activists to protest reports of LGBTQ pride flags being flown at K-12 educational institutions.

Muslim Americans, from Dearborn’s large Middle Eastern population, also turned out in high numbers to protest the school district’s decision to include LGBTQ books in school libraries.