Judge Brett Kavanaugh Tuesday surprised state schools based on religious freedoms are now prohibiting religious dissent parents from being kicked out of their young children from LGBTQ storybook lessons.

Mahmoudv. In Taylor, the majority of the Supreme Court seemed ready to side with parents who wanted to choose their children from the Montgomery County Board of Education mandatory picture book readings that included pronouns, transgender children and pride parade.

“I think it’s a bit mystical about how this was done as a lifetime resident of the county,” Kavanaugh said during the verbal discussion. “Can you tell me what happened in March 2023?”

Eric Baxter, senior adviser to the Beckett Fund for Religious Freedom, said the district had been notified to parents and had pledged for a year to allow them to opt out of lessons.

“The last notice occurred on March 22, 2023,” he said. “The next day, one night, without explanation, the board came out and said they were changing the rules because they wanted all students to be instructed about inclusion.”

District Attorney Alan Schoenfeld told the judiciary that he stopped offering opt-outs when it became unfeasible.

But the district has already opted out of religious concerns about musical performances, anatomy and high school sex ed class – “Perfectly everything under the sun,” said Associate Deputy Director Sarah Harris.

“One thing they don’t allow is the exemption from the storybook,” Harris said.

Currently: The Supreme Court, Mahmoudv. Hearing oral discussions on Taylor. This takes into consideration whether religious parents can choose young children from the mandatory readings of LGBTQ storybooks.

This is one of the books on the case, “What are you saying?”

“My pronoun is… pic.twitter.com/4xffl7imcp

– Katelynn Richardson (@katesrichardson) April 22, 2025

Several justice suggested that the school curriculum does not merely expose children to ideas, without requiring them to affirm what is being taught.

“Is that a realistic concept when I’m talking about five years old?” asked Chief John Roberts.

Barrett pointed out that presentation as a factual idea is not the same as exposure.

“I say this is the right way to see the world,” she said. “This is how we think about things. This is how you should think about things. This is like 2+2 as a 4.”

Judge Neil Gorsuch also raised questions about statements made by board members involved in the policy, noting that some students parrot their parents’ “dogmas,” and that parents promote hatred and take a perspective approved by white supremacists and foreigners.

“Does that suggest hostility towards religion?” he asked.

Last year, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals held 2-1 Parents’ rights to free movement were not borne by the district, as their children were not forced to “change religious beliefs and behaviors” simply by touching the book. The judiciary looked at both sides for appropriate testing to determine whether religious movements were borne. (Related: Alito criticizes colleagues for skipping normal steps to block deportation in “unprecedented” decisions)

Judge Elena Kagan said that although she was “not so excited” about the book, there are probably many non-religious parents wondering whether being with her parents means “opt-out for everyone.”

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson worried how far the opt-out could go, and questioned how that would apply to teachers who display photos of his gay weddings and groups of students holding “Love is Love” posters around school.

“What about trans students in the classroom? Should the teacher notify parents of the student’s presence and opt out to not be in the same classroom as this child?” she asked.

Judge Sonia Sotomayor abandoned his hypothesis. Is it compulsory to expose children to content that includes divorce, pagan marriage, or shelter attire? What about parents who oppose the biographies of women recognized for their achievements outside the home?

“Some people believe women shouldn’t work,” she pointed out.

Eventually, Kavanaugh returned to his position as Montgomery County “beacon of religious freedom over all these years.”

“Maryland was founded on the basis of religious freedom and religious tolerance. Catholics are a heaven for Catholics who escaped persecution from British persecution dating back to 1649,” he told Schoenfeld. “I think it’s surprising to me when I consider this to be a hill to die in that we don’t respect religious freedom.”

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