An interfaith group of parents says forcing elementary school children to participate in instruction that contradicts their religious beliefs on sex and gender violates their First Amendment rights—and they hope that the U.S. Supreme Court will agree.
In March 2023, the Montgomery County Board of Education notified parents that they will no longer be able to opt their elementary-level students out of instruction on books involving gender and sexuality topics.
The books included titles such as “Pride Puppy,” which describes what a child might see at a Pride parade; “What Are Your Words,” which centers on a child whose pronouns change “like the weather”; and “Love, Violet,” a story about a same-sex playground romance.
When these books were introduced, the county assured parents that they would retain the right to exclude their children from any lessons concerning them. The policy change that came months later retracted that right and prompted local parents of diverse faiths—Muslims, Catholics, Orthodox, and others—to sue.
Mike O’Brien, counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, will argue on the parents’ behalf on April 22, when their case goes before the Supreme Court as Mahmoud v. Taylor. They are seeking the restoration of their right to direct and protect their children’s religious beliefs, O’Brien said.
Lawyers for the school, in a court filing, said that the books form a small part of the curriculum and contend that the books are “archetypal stories that touch on the same themes introduced to children in such classic books as Snow White, Cinderella, and Peter Pan.”
The school board has defended its policy change as a step toward inclusivity, citing the potential stigma that certain students could feel if their classmates were excused from LGBT-themed activities.
But parents opposed to the rule change note it also violates state law, which explicitly requires parental notification and consent for such topics.
“What the parents are asking for here is not new,” O’Brien told The Epoch Times. “What’s new is Montgomery County’s real extreme-outlier approach to cutting parents out to impose one-sided ideological instruction.”
The Supreme Court’s decision in the case will have substantial implications for religious liberty and the First Amendment, setting the stage for what could be one of the most important Bill of Rights decisions in U.S. law.
—Samantha Flom and Joseph Lord
A TALE OF TWO DISTRICTS
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), Congress’s “Mr. No,” was the only Republican to oppose last month’s key funding bill. President Donald Trump has threatened to hit the libertarian-leaning congressman with a primary challenger.
On the same vote, Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) bucked his party too, breaking with all other Democrats to back a Trump-aligned continuing resolution that kept the government from shutting down.
Golden faced some kind of reaction—in Bangor, Maine, a town hall with an empty seat for Golden where participants were invited to “tell him how you feel!”—but for now, his seat appears safe, at least from other Democrats.
What sets two seeming mavericks apart from each other?
A closer look at the two districts shows why two parallel votes have made for two rather different outcomes.
Last month, The Epoch Times visited Kentucky’s Fourth District, the place that keeps sending deficit-conscious “Mr. No” to Washington.
The Epoch Times went on to visit Golden’s home turf, Maine’s Second.
The territory stretches from the center of the state to the northern coast, going all the way to the Canadian border.
Moose and black bears share the land with what often seems like a rarer breed: Trump voters who would choose a Democrat to represent them in Congress.
In 2024, the president won the district by almost 10 percent. Golden won too, though only narrowly; his margin of victory in a race against former NASCAR driver Austin Theriault was under 1 percent.
Bruce Poliquin, who once occupied Golden’s seat, told The Epoch Times he thinks Trump could have made the difference for Theriault if he had appeared in the district last cycle.
“Mainers are notoriously ticket splitters and fiercely independent—and that goes double for the Second District,” Republican state Rep. David Boyer, who represents a small chunk of Golden’s territory, told The Epoch Times in the halls of the Maine State House in Augusta.
Not far away from Boyer, The Epoch Times found one of those notorious ticket splitters.
Dave Clark, an Augusta local who was visiting the state house with his grandson, said he supported both Golden and President Donald Trump in last year’s election. He thinks the congressman is somewhat inconsistent on the issues. On the whole, though, he likes the job Golden has done.
—Nathan Worcester
BOOKMARKS
Pope Francis died at 7:35 a.m. local time yesterday in Vatican City, shortly after being hospitalized for 38 days with double pneumonia. The College of Cardinals is expected to convene 15 to 20 days from now in the Sistine Chapel, where they will hold a conclave to elect a new pope.
U.S. District Judge William Alsup has ordered Donald Trump’s administration to provide laid-off federal employees with a letter indicating they were let go as part of a government-wide reduction effort, and not for performance reasons. “Termination under the false pretense of performance is an injury that will persist for the working life of each civil servant,” and could harm future employment opportunities, he said.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) admitted on Sunday that it opened fire on rescue workers on March 23, after mistaking them for Hamas fighters. “Due to poor night visibility, the deputy commander did not initially recognize the vehicles as ambulances,” the IDF said in a statement.
Patrick Crusius, 26, has avoided the death penalty by pleading guilty to the murder of 23 people during a 2019 Walmart mass shooting. Crusius, who has been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, was sentenced to 90 consecutive life sentences.
Although El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele’s crackdown on gang activity has been controversial to some Americans, many Washington-based expatriates from that country have cheered his methods. The Epoch Times’ Nathan Worcester gets up close and personal in his latest report.
—Stacy Robinson
