OPINION:
Local bureaucrats may not be able to use elementary schools as social experimentation zones much longer. The Supreme Court on Tuesday began debating whether officials in Montgomery County, Maryland, broke the law when they forced children in pre-kindergarten classes through grade six to listen to readings from books such as “Uncle Bobby’s Wedding” that celebrate the homosexual lifestyle.
Several parents objected to a daily barrage of propaganda that they viewed as inappropriate for children as young as 3. The county persisted, insisting that students be informed about the importance of marching in pride parades, transitioning from one gender to another, and engaging in same-sex playground romance. The politicians responsible were explicit in their desire to stamp out “cisnormativity” and substitute their extreme views in its place.
The parents’ attorney, Eric S. Baxter, told the court, “We have both books that violate their moral principles and instruction that tells them that, for example, they can pick their pronouns based on the way they feel, not even just … based on their gender but how they feel from moment to moment.”
School board members went out of their way to demonize these dissatisfied mothers and fathers as “White supremacists” and “xenophobes” as they voted to ignore the complaints and advance the liberal catechism.
“I guess I am a bit mystified as a lifelong resident of the county how it came to this,” Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh said.
Mr. Baxter’s children declined to participate in the county’s sex-ed indoctrination. Alternatives are offered to Muslim parents who object to works that might contain an image of the Prophet Muhammad. Children of the irreligious don’t have to sing songs that might have spiritual overtones. However, all are excluded from opting out of the new “inclusivity” curriculum.
On March 22, 2023, the school board altered its policy so parents with sincere, traditional Christian views would have no ability to shield family members from the intrusion. The board also blocked schools from providing notice about the objectionable material.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor did her best to downplay the scheme’s harm by pointing to the lower court’s finding. “What they decided was that there wasn’t coercion here, that it was mere exposure,” she said.
It’s not that the contested material is allowed to sit on a shelf in a library. The problem is, there’s no way to escape evangelization because the impressionable youths the county is targeting lack the maturity needed to realize what’s happening. Upset parents often have no recourse.
“In Maryland, you’re compelled to send your children to public schools, and it’s a misdemeanor if you don’t, and you’re fined if you don’t. And it’s true that the statute gives you an exemption to that compulsion if you choose homeschooling or private school,” Justice Amy Coney Barrett said.
Those options aren’t available to everyone. Families that need to work multiple jobs to pay the taxmen in Annapolis and Washington may not have the time or money to do so. Only four states — Arizona, Arkansas, Florida and West Virginia — offer unlimited school choice to all residents. Maryland’s Opportunity Scholarship program is open only to a quarter of the population.
Several Montgomery County parents did scrape together the resources needed to remove their children from public schools. Those who go to such lengths shouldn’t be forced to subsidize the proselytizing of others with their tax dollars.
The justices ought to shut down the left’s shameless attempt to impose its secular religion at our expense.
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