(NewsNation) — The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday in an ongoing battle over LGBTQ+ themes in books between Maryland parents and the state’s largest school district.
The case, Mahmoud v. Taylor, revolves around a coalition of parents who believe they have a religious right to keep their kids from reading books that discuss LGBTQ+ themes.
The parents are not seeking the books’ removal from schools, but are instead asking their children not to be forced to read or listen to them as part of the school curriculum.
The books include “Love Violet,” which tells the story of a same-sex crush between students, and “Uncle Bobby’s Wedding,” which illustrates a gay wedding. Another book, “Born Ready,” tells the story of a transgender boy.
The books were originally added to Montgomery County Public Schools’ curriculum in 2022 for students in pre-K through fifth grade.
Previously, parents could choose to opt out when these books were used as “compelled instruction” in class. But that option was eliminated last year, when a federal appeals court ruled that kids could not step out of reading programs over LGBTQ+ content.
As a result, a coalition of parents sued the district over what they call a violation of the First Amendment’s religious protections.
The district’s lawyers contend the books can coexist “alongside the many books already in the curriculum that feature heterosexual characters in traditional gender roles.”
“The storybooks themselves do not instruct about gender or sexuality,” the school board’s SCOTUS brief reads. “They are not textbooks. They merely introduce students to characters who are LGBTQ or have LGBTQ family members, and those characters’ experiences and points of view.”
Schools have already pulled at least two books, but the district continues to argue these stories are meant to promote acceptance and teach diverse cultures to children, not to violate any constitutional rights.
A decision on the case is expected in late June.