Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody’s office has joined a 25-state brief in support of parental rights in a U.S. Supreme Court case.
In the case, styled Mahmoud v. Taylor, et al., a group of Maryland parents from diverse religious backgrounds has asked the Supreme Court to restore their right to know what books will be read to their elementary-aged children and when. The parents also want their children to have the option to leave when books that push an agenda on sexuality and gender that clashes with their deeply held religious beliefs will be read.
The coalition, led by Virginia and West Virginia, is urging SCOTUS to grant a petition for writ of certiorari to remind courts that strict scrutiny applies in these situations and requires schools to provide opt-out rights.
The Montgomery County Board of Education took away parental notice and opt-outs for books that celebrate gender transitioning, pronoun preferences, pride parades and other materials that defy the families’ deep rooted religious beliefs. The parents do not want the books banned. They just say they want their right to remove their children from class when the materials are being presented to be restored.
“This is yet another example of government entities overstepping their authority,” West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said. “Parents have a right to participate in and influence their children’s education.
“The Montgomery County Board of Education is effectively thumbing its nose at parents’ rights to know what their children are being taught — even though what they’re doing is infringing on families’ freedoms of speech and the exercise of their religious beliefs.”
In its brief, the coalition wrote, “States have ‘an interest in not undermining [the family] unit …’ That interest starts with protecting parental rights — the foundation of the parent-child relationship, the first societal unit. They are among the ‘oldest of the fundamental liberty interests recognized’ by the states.”
Joining the coalition are the AGs from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and Wyoming.