Montgomery County schools, parents reach settlement in suit over LGBTQ+ books in classes
Parents pushing for religious opt-out options for LGBTQ+ curriculum in Montgomery County schools leave the U.S. Supreme Court with their attorneys last year after oral arguments in their case, Mahmoud v. Taylor. (Photo by Danielle J. Brown/Maryland Matters)
Montgomery County schools and a group of parents who objected to their children receiving LGBTQ+-themed instruction without their consent have reached a settlement of the parents’ lawsuit that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The agreement, signed Thursday by U.S. District Judge Deborah L. Boardman, settles a lawsuit filed in 2023 by a group of Muslim, Jewish and Christian parents after the school system introduced books, for classes as early as pre-kindergarten, that had stories featuring transgender or same-sex characters.
The settlement includes a $1.5 million payment and new provisions alerting parents to content of course materials, to provide alternative instruction and to give parents an opportunity to opt their children out of the standard instruction.
The case was heard last year by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled 6-3 in June that the parents had “shown that they are very likely to succeed in their free exercise” of religion claims, before sending the case back to lower courts for hearing.
Eric Baxter, senior counsel at the Becket Fund and lead attorney for the parents, said in an interview Friday the parents “are super happy” with the Supreme Court’s ruling and to reach a settlement with Montgomery County.
“A lawsuit that never should’ve happened,” Baxter said. “Now it’s on Montgomery County to rebuild trust with parents and make public education more of a partnership than an autocracy.”
Baxter said the case should be a warning to other schools in the state and nationwide that “they’ve now seen it’s not only a breach of trust with parents not to provide notice, but it’s also very costly. Lawyers will now be looking to enforce rights for parents against other schools that don’t follow.”
When the books were originally introduced in the 2022-23 school year, the school system allowed parents to take their children out of health education classes they found offensive.
But the board reversed itself in March 2023, saying students could not get out of language arts classes using the books, which the schools called part of an inclusive curriculum that was designed to also help teach civility and respect.
In the parents’ petition filed to the Supreme Court in March 2025, they cited a few of the elementary-aged books and teacher guidance such as “Born Ready,” a story about Penelope, a student who identifies as a boy. “Teachers are told to instruct students that, at birth, doctors guess about our gender, but we know ourselves best,” the parents’ petition said.
Another book was “Jacob’s Room to Choose” about two young children who identify as transgender. “Their teacher uses a game to persuade their classmates to support gender-free bathrooms,” the parents’ filing said.
According to Thursday’s settlement, the county’s Board of Education must notify parents in advance whenever an LGTBQ+ book or other materials are planned for instruction. That way parents are allowed to opt out their children from that classroom.
The board may provide advanced notice to parents through emails “prior to each marking period” with descriptions of all main instructional materials (including any video) approved for each grade. The schools must also identify any materials that address “the family life and human sexuality objective” in the state’s Comprehensive Health Education Framework. A draft of the framework was approved in November.
Finally, the board can instruct all schools and teachers to inform parents with “accurate information” who request when any materials approved will be used in the classroom.