One of the most controversial issues in education in the West, especially in the United States, is whether parents have the right to control what their children are taught at school or whether that is controlled by the government. This has become an even more controversial with the addition of LGBT curriculum being added into public education.
This debate came to a head recently in Maryland. Muslim, Christian, and Jewish parents did not like that the Montgomery County Public Schools enacted a no-opt-out policy for curriculum that includes LGBT elements for kids as young as pre-K through fifth grade.
The parents complained to the school board and were rejected, causing them to file a lawsuit against the district. The lawsuit did not seek to ban the LGBT books from the classroom. Instead, it only sought to allow the parents the right to decide whether or not their children had to be exposed to this content. The case went to U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman, who had been appointed by President Biden. She rejected the parents’ motion for a preliminary injunction that would have restored the opt-out clause for this school year.
In her ruling Boardman stated that the parents “have not shown that the school district’s use of the storybooks crosses the line from permissible influence on potentially impermissible indoctrination. The evidence suggests that, generally, teachers will occasionally read one of the handful of books, lead discussions and ask questions about the characters, and respond to questions and comments in ways that encourage tolerance for different views and lifestyles,” the judge wrote. “That is not indoctrination.” Imagine a judge saying the same thing if a teacher tried to read and discuss the Bible in a public school? It would never be allowed in today’s environment.
According to the judge’s ruling, the school decided to introduce the no-opt-out policy in March following a meeting with a small group of principals, with the school board feeling that the growing number of opt-out requests disrupted the classroom environment. The school board members claimed they were concerned about the high number of student absenteeism and the perceived impracticality of managing a large number of opt-outs. In addition, the school board purportedly believed that allowing students to opt out would expose other students and families to “social stigma” if they felt the LGBT-themed books represented their lifestyle.
In a statement, Becket, a nonprofit law firm that filed a federal lawsuit on the parents’ behalf in May, said the parents plan to ask a federal appeals court to protect their parental rights and religious freedom. “Parents know and love their children best; that’s why all kids deserve to have their parents help them understand issues like gender identity and sexuality,” Eric Baxter, vice president and senior counsel for the Becket, stated “The school board’s decision to cut parents out of these discussions flies in the face of parental freedom, childhood innocence, and basic human decency. The court’s decision is an assault on children’s right to be guided by their parents on complex and sensitive issues regarding human sexuality,” he continued. “The School Board should let kids be kids and let parents decide how and when to best educate their own children consistent with their religious beliefs.”
Biblical Connections: Throughout the Bible, you can see a pattern of how sin works. First, it is merely an option that one must choose. However, as sin flourishes in a society, eventually it will get to the point that sin becomes the dominate view and then nothing else is tolerated. James 1:14-15 states, “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.”
PRAY: Pray that these corrupt forces will be defeated and that children will stop being forced to listen to an ungodly agenda at school.