Three families of Montgomery County Public Schools filed a lawsuit against Superintendent Monifa McKnight and MCPS for infringing on their religious rights to opt their children out of reading books regarding LGBTQ+ topics. This case, Mahmoud v. McKnight, comes in response to the MCPS Board of Education’s release of 20 new inclusivity books for pre-K to eighth grade classrooms, including “Pride Puppy” and “Uncle Bob’s Wedding”. The court ruled against the parents in the case.
Cases like Mahmoud v. McKnight brought up important discussions on whether parents should be allowed to opt their children out of reading LGBTQ+ books. Beyond MCPS, parents across the country have increasingly called on school systems to provide parents with the option to withdraw their children from reading and even ban books about the LGBTQ+ community from schools and public libraries. According to PEN America, in the past two years alone, 26% of banned books in American public schools are due to the book’s inclusion of LGBTQ characters and themes, with Florida, Texas, Utah and Missouri being the most prevalent states for book bans. In August 2023, parents in Los Angeles marched to the Los Angeles Unified School District Headquarters to protest the school district’s methods of teaching LGBTQ+ issues, with the parents arguing for more control over their children’s education.
As a county which emphasizes diversity and inclusion in their educational systems, MCPS should be including more opportunities to instruct on LGBTQ+ representation. Children may not fit into or come from families that fit into the straight, cisgender narrative that is typically showcased in schools, and so may never have been exposed to this essential part of the MCPS community. To truly be inclusive of those students, MCPS needs to highlight their narratives and stories in the lessons and books taught at MCPS schools.
“Our diverse county is enriched by its diversity, but true diversity requires inclusivity. “Embracing diversity and inclusivity in education not only supports students’ holistic development but also fosters a more tolerant society. Opting out of learning about the LGBTQ+ community and minorities implies a refusal to recognize it as a community of minorities and individuals who are fundamentally just like us,” Poolesville High School senior Faith Nah said.
Allowing parents to opt their children out of reading LGBTQ+ books perpetuates the message that the narratives of people who do not fit into the straight, cisgender mold are not worthy of being heard or learned about. Instead of stories of positive representation of the LGBTQ+ community, students will be left with narratives that leave an inaccurate and harmful portrayal of the community that negatively impacts students who identify as or have family who identify as part LGBTQ+.
“While parents have the autonomy to instill their religious beliefs in their children, schools also bear the responsibility of providing an education that equips students for a diverse and interconnected world,” Nah said. “It is within a parent’s right to convey their perspective, even if it involves expressing that their religion doesn’t align with the LGBTQ+ community. Nevertheless, this parental right doesn’t translate into an obligation for schools to censor or remove educational materials that may touch upon sensitive or potentially offensive topics.”
One of the arguments made by the parents in Mahmoud v. McKnight is that elementary and middle school children are still not mature enough to learn about the LGBTQ+ community without parental guidance. The families represented in the case brought forth the claim that MCPS is violating their own policies when allowing these books into their curriculum as parents have the right to make key decisions regarding their children’s education in matters of family life and human sexuality. However, MCPS has responded that in their books and lessons, children are learning about gender and sexuality representation rather than explicit instruction.
In the trial, MCPS responded to this argument of violating their own policies with instructional materials that outline their method of teaching gender and sexuality in the classroom. For instance, one of the materials provided to the court guides an educator on discussing with a parent why elementary school isn’t too early to start educating children on LGBTQ+ topics, with the transcript of the case stating, “Beginning these conversations [about the diversity of gender] in elementary school will help young people develop empathy for a diverse group of people and learn about identities that might relate to their families or even themselves.”
Including books on the LGBTQ+ community is a step into expanding inclusivity in MCPS and other educational systems. Allowing these types of books to be in the curriculum helps students understand and respect one another, even if their views may not always align.
Written by Ishani Biswas of Poolesville High School
Graphic by Arpa Gomes of Springbrook High School