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Los Angeles Times
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
The 9 LGBTQ+ children's books targeted in high court ruling upending education policy
Picture books are not usually the stuff of Supreme Court rulings. But on Friday, a majority of justices ruled that parents have a right to opt their children out of lessons that offend their religious beliefs — bringing the colorful pages of books like 'Uncle Bobby's Wedding' and 'Pride Puppy' into the staid public record of the nation's highest court. The ruling resulted from a lawsuit brought by parents in Montgomery County, Md., who sued for the right to remove their children from lessons where LGBTQ+ storybooks would be read aloud in elementary school classes from kindergarten through 5th grade. The books were part of an effort in the district to represent LGBTQ+ families in the English language arts curriculum. In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that schools must 'notify them in advance' when one of the disputed storybooks would be used in their child's class, so that they could have their children temporarily removed. The court's three liberals dissented. As part of the the decisions, briefings and petitions in the case, the justices and lawyers for the parents described in detail the story lines of nine picture books that were part of Montgomery County's new curriculum. In her dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor even reproduced one, 'Uncle Bobby's Wedding,' in its entirety. Here are the nine books that were the subject of the case: Pride PuppyAuthor: Robin Stevenson Illustrator: Julie McLaughlin 'Pride Puppy,' a rhyming alphabet book for very young children, depicts a little girl who loses her dog during a joyful visit to a Pride parade. The story, which is available as a board book, invites readers to spot items starting with each of the letters of the alphabet, including apple, baseball and clouds — as well as items more specific to a Pride parade. Lawyers representing the parents said in their brief that the 'invites students barely old enough to tie their own shoes to search for images of 'underwear,' 'leather,' 'lip ring,' '[drag] king' and '[drag] queen,' and 'Marsha P. Johnson,' a controversial LGBTQ activist and sex worker.' The 'leather' in question refers to a mother's jacket, and the 'underwear' to a pair of green briefs worn over tights by an older child as part of a colorful outfit. The Montgomery County Public Schools stopped teaching 'Pride Puppy' in the midst of the legal battle. Love, VioletAuthor: Charlotte Sullivan WildIllustrator: Charlene Chua The story describes a little girl named Violet with a crush on another girl in her class named Mira, who 'had a leaping laugh' and 'made Violet's heart skip.' But every time Mira tries to talk to her, Violet gets shy and quiet. On Valentine's Day, Violet makes Mira a special valentine. As Violet gathers the courage to give it to her, the valentine ends up trampled in the snow. But Mira loves it anyway and also has a special gift for Violet — a locket with a violet inside. At the end of the book, the two girls go on an adventure together. Lawyers for the parents describe 'Love, Violet' as a book about 'two young girls and their same-sex playground romance.' They wrote in that 'teachers are encouraged to have a 'think aloud' moment to ask students how it feels when they don't just 'like' but 'like like' someone.' Born Ready: The True Story of a Boy Named PenelopeAuthor: Jodie Patterson Illustrator: Charnelle Pinkney Barlow In 'Born Ready,' 5-year-old Penelope was born a girl but is certain they are a boy. 'I love you, Mama, but I don't want to be you. I want to be Papa. I don't want tomorrow to come because tomorrow I'll look like you. Please help me, Mama. Help me be a boy,' Penelope tells their mom. 'We will make a plan to tell everyone we know,' Penelope's mom tells them, and they throw a big party to celebrate. In her dissent, Sotomayor notes, 'When Penelope's brother expresses skepticism, his mother says, 'Not everything needs to make sense. This is about love.' ' In their opening brief, lawyers for the families said that 'teachers are told to instruct students that, at birth, people 'guess about our gender,' but 'we know ourselves best.' ' Prince and Knight Author: Daniel Haack Illustrator: Stevie Lewis 'Prince and Knight' is a story about a prince whose parents want him to find a bride, but instead he falls in love with a knight. Together, they fight off a dragon. When the prince falls from a great height, his knight rescues him on horseback. When the king and queen find out of their love, they 'were overwhelmed with joy. 'We have finally found someone who is perfect for our boy!' ' A great wedding is held, and 'the prince and his shining knight would live happily ever after.' 'The book Prince & Knight clearly conveys the message that same-sex marriage should be accepted by all as a cause for celebration,' said Justice Samuel Alito, who wrote the majority opinion, a concerning message for Americans whose religion tells them that same-sex marriage is wrong. 'For young children, to whom this and the other storybooks are targeted, such celebration is liable to be processed as having moral connotations,' Alito wrote. 'If this same-sex marriage makes everyone happy and leads to joyous celebration by all, doesn't that mean it is in every respect a good thing?' Uncle Bobby's WeddingAuthor: Sarah S. Brannen Illustrator: Lucia Soto In 'Uncle Bobby's Wedding,' a little girl named Chloe learns that her beloved uncle is engaged to his partner, a man named Jamie. At first, she worries that the marriage will change her close bond with her uncle. But she soon embraces the celebration and the joy of getting another uncle through the union. In the majority opinion, Alito wrote that the book sends children the message that 'two people can get married, regardless of whether they are of the same or the opposite sex, so long as they 'love each other.' ' That viewpoint is 'directly contrary to the religious principles that the parents in this case wish to instill in their children.' Parents ability to 'present a different moral message' to their children, he said, 'is undermined when the exact opposite message is positively reinforced in the public school classroom at a very young age.' In her dissent, Sotomayor includes the entire book, writing that, 'Because the majority selectively excerpts the book in order to rewrite its story.' The majority's analysis, she writes, 'reveals its failure to accept and account for a fundamental truth: LGBTQ people exist. They are part of virtually every community and workplace of any appreciable size. Eliminating books depicting LGBTQ individuals as happily accepted by their families will not eliminate student exposure to that concept.' Jacob's Room to ChooseAuthor: Sarah Hoffman and Ian HoffmanIllustrator: Chris Case 'Jacob's Room to Choose' is a follow-up to 'Jacob's New Dress,' a picture book listed as one of the American Library Assn.'s top 100 banned books of the last decade. Jacob wears a dress, and when he tries to use the boy's bathroom, two little boys 'stared at Jacob standing in the doorway. Jacob knew what that look meant. He turned and ran out.' The same thing happens to his friend Sophie, who presents as a boy and is chased out of the girl's bathroom. Their teacher encourages the whole class to rethink what gender really means. The class decides everyone should be able to use the bathroom that makes them feel comfortable, and makes new, inclusive signs to hang on the bathroom doors. 'After relabeling the bathroom doors to welcome multiple genders, the children parade with placards that proclaim 'Bathrooms Are For Every Bunny' and '[choose] the bathroom that is comfy,' ' lawyers for the parents wrote. IntersectionAllies: We Make Room for All Author: Chelsea Johnson, LaToya Council and Carolyn Choi Illustrator: Ashley Seil Smith 'IntersectionAllies,' written by three sociologists, is a story about characters with different identities, including one who uses a wheelchair, and another, Kate, who identifies as transgender. One page shows Kate in a gender-neutral bathroom, saying, 'My friends defend my choices and place. A bathroom, like all rooms, should be a safe space.' In the majority opinion, Alito describes a discussion guide included with the book that he said asserts: 'When we are born, our gender is often decided for us based on our sex . . . . But at any point in our lives, we can choose to identify with one gender, multiple genders, or neither gender.' The guide asks readers, 'What pronouns fit you best?' Alito wrote. What Are Your Words?: A Book About Pronouns Author: Katherine LockeIllustrator: Anne Passchier 'What Are Your Words' is a picture book about a child named Ari whose pronouns are 'like the weather. They change depending on how I feel. And that's ok, because they're my words.' Ari's Uncle Lior (who uses they/them pronouns) is coming to visit, and Ari is struggling to decide which words describe them. 'The child spends the day agonizing over the right pronouns,' the lawyers for the parents wrote. At the end, while watching fireworks, Ari says, 'My words finally found me! They and them feel warm and snug to me.' My RainbowAuthor: DeShanna Neal and Trinity NealIllustrator: Art Twink 'My Rainbow' tells the true story of a Black child with autism who self-identifies as a transgender girl. Trinity wants long hair, just like her doll, but has trouble growing it out. 'The mother decides that her child knows best and sews him a rainbow-colored wig,' lawyers for the parents wrote. The Montgomery County Public Schools also stopped teaching 'My Rainbow' during the course of the lawsuit. This article is part of The Times' early childhood education initiative, focusing on the learning and development of California children from birth to age 5. For more information about the initiative and its philanthropic funders, go to
New York Times
a day ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Supreme Court Requires Schools to Allow Opting Out From L.G.B.T.Q. Stories
Public schools in Maryland must allow parents with religious objections to withdraw their children from classes in which storybooks with L.G.B.T.Q. themes are discussed, the Supreme Court ruled on Friday. The vote was 6 to 3, with the court's liberal members in dissent. The case extended a winning streak for claims of religious freedom at the court, gains that have often come at the expense of other values, notably gay rights. The case concerned a new curriculum adopted in 2022 for prekindergarten through the fifth grade by the Montgomery County Public Schools, Maryland's largest school system. The storybooks included 'Pride Puppy,' an alphabet primer about a family whose puppy gets lost at a Pride parade; 'Love, Violet,' about a girl who develops a crush on her female classmate; 'Born Ready,' about a transgender boy; and 'Uncle Bobby's Wedding,' about a same-sex union. At first, the school system gave parents notice when the storybooks were to be discussed, along with the opportunity to have their children excused. But school administrators soon eliminated the advanced notice and opt-out policy, saying it was hard to administer, led to absenteeism and risked 'exposing students who believe the storybooks represent them and their families to social stigma and isolation.' Parents of several faiths sued, saying the books violated the First Amendment's protection of the free exercise of religion. The books, their complaint said, 'promote one-sided transgender ideology, encourage gender transitioning and focus excessively on romantic infatuation.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Miami Herald
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Queer questions about capitalism aren't right for kindergartners
Opinion Queer questions about capitalism aren't right for kindergartners | Opinion The 'queens' and 'queers' of the kindergarten alphabet book 'Pride Puppy' finally had their day before the Supreme Court. Predictably on Tuesday, the six conservative justices were not pleased with the Maryland school district that made exposure to this and four other LGBTQ+-themed books a mandatory part of the grade-school English curriculum starting in kindergarten. Religious parents in Montgomery County, Maryland objected to what their kids were being exposed to and made a federal case out of it — this one centered on the free exercise of religion protected by the First Amendment. As the First Amendment protects my writing, I am a big fan of an expansive reading of the five freedoms it protects — religion, speech, press, assembly and the right to petition the government. But it shouldn't take a coming rebuke from the Supreme Court to get schools to remember that they are only borrowing our kids. Parents' values should be treated with respect. Public schools ought to be a little more modest about how they teach issues that divide us, particularly to young children not yet used to questioning the sanity of the adults around them. If parents don't have the bucks for private school or the time and patience for home schooling, they shouldn't have to hand their kids over for a first grade indoctrination in intersectional feminism. Let's take LGBTQ and religious views out of it. We all know that kids are impressionable. What would you think if kindergartners were required to be exposed to books that presented smoking in a puppy-themed, sparkly and rainbow bedecked light? We'd never do that. Indeed, the Maryland schools intended message of tolerance and support for some kinds of diversity can be widely found on the internet, cable and broadcast and streaming TV, movies and music. But positive depictions of smoking are rare. They can get you slapped with an R rating or raise questions about your broadcast license. We know kids are susceptible to influence from how things are portrayed and we know that some things are only appropriate for an older audience. While most Americans think tobacco is bad for you and most Americans don't think that about being gay, for people who do object, the idea that images and the way things are portrayed to kids can be influential is well-accepted idea. In the coming year, this issue is going to heat up. If you haven't noticed already, the 250th anniversary of the opening battles of the Revolutionary War have already passed. The drumbeat of anniversaries will continue to get louder culminating in a national celebration of the 250th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 2026. Next school year, the nation's pupils will be awash in Revolutionary War pedagogy. Among the leading voices in shaping what they hear is the 1619 Project, an educational K-12 version of which has been adopted by 4,500 schools across the country. Among its more debatable contentions are the claims that American capitalism is intimately bound with racism, that the Revolutionary War was launched, in part, to protect slavery from British-led reform efforts and that the very idea of police in America is descended from patrols engaged in recapturing escaped slaves. These aren't questions of religious orthodoxy that the Supreme Court can sweep in and give parents a right to opt-out of for reasons of religious freedom. Nevertheless, in the lower grades, schools shouldn't be using complicated and contested interpretations of history to encourage impressionable young children to hate their homeland. Leave such debates for the adults and older students who are equipped to interrogate the evidence for themselves and not as likely to take the word of a teacher as gospel. Kindergarteners don't need to know the word queer any more than 1st graders need to critique capitalism or even know the word at all. Public schools should remember these kids are ours and treat us — and our kids — with a little more respect. David Mastio Opinion Contributor, The Kansas City Star Go to X Go to Facebook Email this person David Mastio has worked for newspaper opinion sections since starting as letters editor of USA Today in 1995. Since then he has been the most conservative member of the liberal editorial board at both USA Today and The Virginian-Pilot, the most liberal member of the conservative editorial board at the Washington Times and founding editorial page editor at the conservative Washington Examiner. As an editorial writer, he has covered the environment, tech, science, local business and national economic policy and politics. Outside of the opinion pages, he has been a Washington correspondent for The Detroit News where he covered the intersection of the environment, regulatory policy and the car industry, California editor of the Center Square and a speech writer on trade and economics for the George W. Bush administration. He also founded his own web company called BlogNetNews, which aggregated and reported on the blog conversations across the political aisle focused on local news and politics in all 50 states.
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
U.S. Supreme Court likely to side with Ohio group on student opt-outs for LGBTQ+ lessons
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — The U.S. Supreme Court signaled last week it will likely rule with parents who wish to opt their children out of school lessons that include LGBTQ+ books, agreeing with an Ohio group that intervened in the case. The nation's top court heard arguments on April 22 in the case against a Maryland school district whose curriculum includes LGBTQ+ books, after lower courts sided with the district and said the books weren't part of 'explicit instruction' on sexual orientation and gender identity. Rather, the materials were included as options within the district's reading list to represent 'a range of cultural, racial, ethnic and religious backgrounds.' Ohio Supreme Court to decide same-sex parental rights case The Protect Ohio Children Coalition had joined other similar groups from California, Colorado, Nebraska and Texas in writing an amicus brief against the school district, arguing in favor of opt-outs for parents wishing to remove their students from such lessons, citing an infringement of their religious beliefs. 'The parents have never maintained that the Pride storybooks, or other specified controversial texts, cannot be taught to other [district] students,' the brief said. 'The parents merely do not want their own children to be subjected to what they view as attempted indoctrination.' LGBTQ+ books on the reading list included titles like 'Uncle Bobby's Wedding,' about a young girl struggling with her uncle's same-sex marriage, and 'Pride Puppy,' about attendees at a Pride march who band together to find a family's lost dog. The district said those on the list are 'made available for individual reading, classroom read-aloud and other educational activities designed to foster and enhance literacy skills.' During oral arguments, Chief Justice John Roberts was reluctant to agree with the school board's argument that the curriculum didn't require students to affirm or support the content of the books. Justice Amy Coney Barrett said the books appeared to be presenting children with more than just neutral facts about the LGBTQ+ community. 'It's not just exposure to the idea, right?' Barrett asked. 'It's saying, this is the right view of the world. This is how we think about things. This is how you should think about things. This is like two plus two is four.' Seven Buckeyes taken on final day of NFL draft while Sanders goes to Browns Justice Elena Kagan asked whether a ruling for the parents would cause an increase in religious objections and lead schools to abandon aspects of the curriculum because of the difficulty of providing opt-outs. Justice Sonia Sotomayor questioned if students had exposure to the contested books. 'Haven't we made very clear that the mere exposure to things that you object to is not coercion?' Kagan said. 'None of them are even kissing in any of these books. The most they are doing is holding hands.' A similar argument was previously made by Judge G. Steven Agee of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, one of the lower courts that agreed with the district. Agee said the parents were not able to 'connect the requisite dots' to show that their religious rights were violated, given there isn't proof that a teacher has used the books in a manner that 'coerces children into changing their religious views.' Protect Ohio Children Coalition joined the amicus brief as the inclusion of LGBTQ+ themes in classrooms is being debated across Ohio, like in the case of a New Richmond teacher who is taking her district to court after she was suspended for having books in her class library with LGBTQ+ characters. Ohio State faculty vote to join Big Ten alliance against Trump A Jackson Township school district said in January it will pay $450,000 to a middle school teacher who resigned for refusing to address two transgender students by their preferred names and pronouns after a court said forcing the teacher to use students' preferred names amounted to 'compelled speech.' The coalition also supported Ohio's 'Parents' Bill of Rights' law, which includes a provision requiring schools to provide parents the opportunity to review instructional material that includes 'sexuality content.' A national crisis hotline said it received a significant increase in calls from LGBTQ+ youth in Ohio within hours after the measure was signed. A decision in the Maryland case is expected this summer. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
New York Post
27-04-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Supreme surprise: Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson accidentally came out — for school choice
During oral arguments in the case of Mahmoud v. Taylor, Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson unintentionally made a practical and convincing case for universal school choice. A few years back, the Montgomery County, Md., school board instituted an 'LGBTQ-inclusive' curriculum that included storybooks for kids as young as pre-kindergarten. The books are ostensibly part of the English curriculum because apparently they feature words and sentences. Advertisement But the rationale for the program, according to the school system itself, is to 'disrupt' the 'binary' thinking of skeptical kids. Which sounds very much like indoctrination. For instance, one of the 'think aloud moments' for kids reading 'Born Ready,' the tale of a confused girl, is 'noticing how happy Penelope is when his mom hears him and commits to sharing with their loved ones that he is a boy.' 'Pride Puppy' is about a cute little dog who wanders into the Pride parade and meets friendly drag queens and leather-clad participants. Advertisement 'Love, Violet' and 'Prince & Knight' are about same-sex attraction. Even secular parents should find the idea of strangers teaching their prepubescent children about sexuality and gender dysphoria at such a young age and in such a frivolous manner unacceptable. As most conscientious parents understand, kids do not 'know themselves best.' Advertisement One of the most vital duties of parenting is guiding children through the confusion of adolescence and teaching them morality. It is not consecrating every harebrained notion that pops into their precious, underdeveloped brains. In any event, a group of religious parents led by a Muslim family in Maryland who believe the messages in the books conflict with their beliefs sued the county — not to stop the classes, but for the right to opt out of them. Yet Montgomery County refused to allow them to do it, maintaining that the opt-out requests would be so numerous they would disrupt the class. This might sound crazy, but if enough parents oppose a non-academic curriculum that it would be endangered, shouldn't a public school do their best to accommodate taxpayers, rather than the opposite? Advertisement Of course, in the progressive mindset the individual is subservient to the state, not vice-versa. So, Mahmoud v. Taylor is now in front of the court. During Tuesday's oral arguments, which seemed to be going relatively well for parents, Jackson conceded that she was 'struggling to see how it burdens a parent's religious exercise if the school teaches something the parent disagrees with.' After all, they have a 'choice,' she noted. 'You don't have to send your kid to that school. You can put them in another situation.' Theoretically speaking, this makes complete sense. You can surrender your impressionable young child to hokum about gender transformation that conflicts with your faith, or you can leave the school entirely and, presumably, send your kids to a private institution or home-school them. The problem here is that Maryland is one of the worst states for parental choice. Jackson, who spent years on the board of a Christian academy in Maryland, should know this. Other than a tiny voucher program, there is nowhere to go. Maryland doesn't have open enrollment policies that, at a bare minimum, allow parents to change schools within the district. Whichever school happens to be closest, no matter how poorly it performs or how ill-fitted it is for your child's needs, is where they must go. Advertisement Children might be the valuable thing in your life, but a Maryland parent is afforded more choices on where to buy a television than where they educate their kids. Maryland barely has any charter schools. Parents who want to homeschool, which is challenging enough, must wrestle with needless regulatory burdens to teach their own children. Anti-reform activists argue that school choice would result in an exodus of parents (and funding), undermining public schools' ability to function. This is called a marketplace. If you can't attract parents, it's probably because your service is substandard. Advertisement Anti-reform activists also argue that voucher programs are for rich people, when the reality is that they are mostly for the middle and working classes, who are unable to escape these propagandizing institutions. Montgomery County is one of the wealthiest in the country, so perhaps parents there have a better chance of escaping than most. Irrespective of who school reform would help, it is an exceedingly small favor to ask schools to allow parents to opt out of classes that teach 'inclusivity' — a euphemism for a radical cultural agenda. Advertisement The fact that schools refuse to meet this request only illustrates the radicalism of these institutions. But fortunately, Jackson has the answer on how to fix it. David Harsanyi is a senior writer at the Washington Examiner. Twitter @davidharsanyi
