Thomas More Society is proud to support Maryland parents in their landmark U.S. Supreme Court case,  Mahmoud v. Taylor, set for oral arguments on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. Through a friend-of-the-court brief filed on behalf of several parental rights organizations, Thomas More Society is advocating for the fundamental right of parents to opt their children out of controversial school lessons that conflict with their religious beliefs, particularly those involving gender ideology and sexual education.  

This case represents a critical opportunity to safeguard parental rights, uphold religious liberty, and protect children from ideological indoctrination in public schools. In  Mahmoud v. Taylor, a group of parents from Montgomery County, Maryland, are challenging the local school board’s decision to eliminate a long-standing opt-out policy. This policy previously allowed parents to excuse their children from reading certain “Pride Storybooks” that promote concepts of gender identity and sexuality, which the parents argue conflict with their sincerely held religious convictions.

“The school decided to yank the opt-out exception, so to speak, and it really triggered the issue of whether the Constitution requires an opt-out in that circumstance,” said TMS Senior Counsel Michael McHale, in an interview with Fox News Digital. “For the Fourth Circuit to say there was no religious burden, it really seems radical, and given how pressing that issue of school curriculum on sexual orientation, gender identity is, I think it raises an issue worth the Supreme Court’s attention.”

The TMS friend-of-the-court brief, authored by Senior Counsel Matt Heffron, argues that the parents’ request is a straightforward exercise of their First Amendment Free Exercise rights, not an attempt to overhaul the school’s curriculum. The court filing emphasizes that opt-out provisions, like those codified in Maryland law and 47 other states, are a practical and constitutionally sound way to balance parental rights with educational interests.

The brief, filed on behalf of Protect Our Kids (California), Colorado Parents Advocacy Network, Protect Ohio Children Coalition, Nebraskans for Founders’ Values, and Texas Education 911, outlines the specific interests of these organizations in the Mahmoud case. These organizations share a mission to protect parental rights and safeguard children from controversial educational content, particularly regarding sexual education and gender ideology.

The filing highlights for the high Court the historical precedent supporting parental opt-outs, citing cases like Pierce v. Society of Sisters  (1925) and Wisconsin v. Yoder  (1972), which affirm parents’ rights to direct their children’s upbringing. It also critiques the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals’ misapplication of  Mozert v. Hawkins County Board of Education  (1987), clarifying that Mozert addressed broad curricular disputes, not discrete opt-out requests like those in  Mahmoud.  

By denying these parents’ rights, the Montgomery County Board risks undermining a national consensus on opt-out and opt-in statutes, which provide a reasonable compromise to avoid entangling courts in complex curricular disputes. TMS asks the Supreme Court to reverse the Fourth Circuit’s decision and reaffirm the right of parents to protect their children from teachings that violate their faith.

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Photo credit: Becket