A federal lawsuit against Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland is moving forward after a judge agreed that blocking parents from the district’s “Staff Pride” X page may have violated their First Amendment rights.
Two MCPS parents sued the district with the help of America First Legal in November after school officials blocked one from the Staff Pride X page and restricted public access to a school board meeting focused in part on 22 LGBTQ books approved for classrooms.
On Sept. 17, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, nominated by former President Barack Obama, ruled on several counts, dismissing some without prejudice, others with prejudice, and denying a MCPS motion to dismiss a claim the district violated parents’ First Amendment rights.
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“In the wake of (parent Bethany) Mandel’s open criticism of the MCPS LGBTQIA+ policies, the Pride Members blocked Mandel from sharing, commenting on, or even viewing posts on the Pride Account,” Xinis wrote. “Mandel was iced out while others who shared the Pride Members’ views and supported the MCPS policies were not similarly restricted.”
“Because the Complaint makes plausible that Mandel was blocked because of her viewpoint, the Complaint alleges a clear First Amendment violation,” she wrote.
The ruling in a win for parents in an ongoing fight with district officials over LGBTQ+ advocacy materials in MCPS schools, particularly in lower grades.
“For far too long, we have seen state actors silencing any debate on the government’s political and ideological orthodoxy. This is especially egregious when those state actors are charged with educating the future leaders of America,” said Ian Prior, America First Legal senior advisor. “It is that kind of suppression of dissent that the First Amendment was designed to prevent, and we are pleased that the Court recognized that with its ruling.”
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Two years ago, MCPS unveiled a list of nearly two dozen “LGBTQ+ inclusive texts for use in the classroom,” including at least one for kindergarten and pre-K students, Maryland Matters reports.
The books, which are not mandatory but rather approved for use in classroom instruction, included seven for lower grades dealing with transgender issues, LGBTQ pride, drag queens, and other issues that parents opposed.
District officials initially allowed parents with religious objections to opt their children out of lessons with the books, but announced in March 2023 there would be no opt-out option for the 2023-24 school year.
The situation prompted a lawsuit from Muslim, Catholic and Ukrainian Orthodox families, separate from American First Legal litigation, that alleges the refusal to allow parents to opt their children out infringes on their religious liberty rights by exposing their children to lessons on sexuality and gender that violate their religious beliefs.
Parents’ request for a preliminary injunction of the new opt-out policy was denied by a federal judge in August 2023, and upheld by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in May.
In early September, parents involved appealed with a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court that argues the end of the MCPS’ opt-out policy means there’s “no protection against forced participation in ideological instruction by government schools,” Maryland Matters reports.
The lawsuits aren’t the only ones focused on MCPS’ gender identity policies.
Substitute teacher Kimberly Ann Polk filed a lawsuit against the district in U.S. District court on May 21, alleging the MCPS gender identity guidelines violated her free exercise and free speech rights, MoCo360 reports.
Polk disagrees with district guidelines that require teachers to “assist children as young as three to transition gender at school and to hide this transitioning from the child’s parents if MCPS officials believe the parents might not be ‘supportive,’” according to the lawsuit.