A heated exchange unfolded at the U.S. Supreme Court this week as the justices weighed a high-profile religious liberty case involving parents who want the right to opt their children out of LGBTQ-themed storybooks in a Maryland public school district.
The case, Mahmoud v. Taylor, pits religious parents against Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), which has refused to allow students to skip classroom readings of certain books that promote messages conflicting with family-held religious beliefs.
At the center of the debate are picture books such as Pride Puppy!, Prince & Knight, and Uncle Bobby’s Wedding, all of which are part of the district’s curriculum.
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During oral arguments, Justice Neil Gorsuch questioned MCPS attorney Alan Schoenfeld about the content of Pride Puppy!, a rhyming alphabet book previously used in the district’s pre-kindergarten classes.
The story follows a family celebrating Pride Day whose dog goes missing during a parade.
Readers are encouraged to find items for each letter of the alphabet in illustrations, one of which includes a woman in leather and a drag queen.
“And they’re being used in English language instruction at age 3?” Gorsuch asked.
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“Pride Puppy! was the book that was used for the pre-kindergarten curriculum. That’s no longer in the curriculum,” Schoenfeld responded.
Gorsuch pressed further, referring to the depiction of “leather and things – and bondage – things like that.”
Schoenfeld pushed back, stating, “It’s not bondage. It’s a woman in a leather…” before Gorsuch interjected, “Sex worker?”
“No. That’s not correct. No,” Schoenfeld said.
Gorsuch continued, “Gosh, I read it… drag queen?”
Schoenfeld clarified that the image was of a woman in a leather jacket and confirmed, “One of the words is drag queen.”
The case was brought by a group of parents represented by attorney Eric Baxter of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty.
Baxter argued that the district violated the First Amendment by denying parents the right to opt their children out of content that conflicts with their religious beliefs.
“These books teach children very specific views about family, love, and identity—views that many families disagree with on religious grounds,” Baxter told the Court.
Baxter also noted the district’s inconsistency in granting opt-out requests, highlighting that parents had been allowed to excuse their children from books depicting the Prophet Muhammad, yet were denied similar requests involving LGBTQ themes.
He further testified that teachers were initially required to read the LGBTQ-themed books at least five times between August and December 2022.
At Sherwood School, he said, administrators decided to read one book per day throughout Pride Month in June.
Initially, MCPS had permitted religious-based opt-out requests, but that policy changed in March 2023.
The district cited concerns about potential absenteeism and administrative complications as reasons for reversing its stance.
In addition to Pride Puppy!, the storybooks at the center of the case include Prince & Knight, which tells the story of two male characters who fall in love after slaying a dragon, and Uncle Bobby’s Wedding, which follows a young girl adjusting to her uncle’s decision to marry another man.
The Supreme Court’s ruling in Mahmoud v. Taylor is expected by the end of June and could have broad implications for religious freedom, parental rights, and public school curriculum standards nationwide.
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