Represented by Washington, D.C.-based law firm, Becket Fund, the multi-faith coalition banded together in the fall of 2022, when Montgomery County Public Schools reversed a policy that had previously allowed parents to opt their children out of lessons promoting radical gender ideology. Parents did not challenge the curriculum itself; rather, they asked the district to allow parents the choice to opt their children out of such lessons. MCPS refused.
“Parents shouldn’t have to take a back seat to anyone when it comes to introducing their children to complex and sensitive issues around gender and sexuality,” Becket Vice President and senior counsel Eric Baxter said. “Nearly every state requires parental consent before high schoolers can attend sex-ed. Parents should have the right to excuse their elementary school children when related instruction is introduced during story hour.”