By Missy Maceyko

AAUW-CA

During LGBTQ+ pride month, we will get a decision in Mahmoud v. Taylor, a case involving the LGBTQ+ community that is currently being considered by the Supreme Court of the United States. The outcome of this case may have an impact on the important legislative and on-the-ground work that AAUW California has been doing (via the School Board Project (SBP)) to protect historically accurate, diverse, and inclusive curricula in K-12 education and schools.

In the Mahmoud case, a coalition of Muslim, Roman Catholic, and Ukrainian Orthodox parents in the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) in Maryland are asking for an opt-out provision for diverse and inclusive storybooks that include a normative portrayal of LGBTQ+ families, such as Pride Puppy, a rhyming alphabet book that tells the story of a family having a fun day together at a LGBTQ+ pride event. The parents in this case argue that requiring their children to engage with story books like Pride Puppy, and instruction around them, will be a violation of their religious beliefs.

After updating the curriculum to include more diverse and inclusive storybooks in 2022, the MCPS school board in this case initially tried to accommodate opt-out requests from parents. However, the school board received such an influx of opt-out requests that course administration became unmanageable. 

Opt-outs can hurt kids whose lives and families are mirrored in the books, positioning LGBTQ+ families’ experiences as something potentially problematic and harmful to others. 

Opt-outs for LGBTQ+ material on religious grounds may also open the flood gates for opt-outs on any topic that is listed as potentially problematic in religious teaching and texts. 

Parents have the ability to opt their children out of some material in California, as well, perhaps most notably around comprehensive sexual health education. As the protection and expansion of historically accurate, diverse, and inclusive curricula in K-12 education in California has been an important focus for both AAUW CA’s School Board Project and our legislative priorities, the possibility that the decision in Mahmoud will spark expanded opt-out requests on religious grounds is critically important for us to track. An outcome in favor of the parents in this case will likely create a wave of social and legal challenges, including a call for more expansive opt-out policies, which will have an impact on how we continue to engage in meaningful work around this priority area in the future. One possible outcome of this is that many districts will pull back on their DEI materials, setting up a potential collision course with existing CA laws.

Missy Maceyko, Public Policy Co-Chair, AAUW California Public Policy Committee