At the beginning of the year, Montgomery County Public Schools introduced six “LGBTQ+-inclusive” books to their story hours but promised that the readings would be “optional” and scheduled only after families were notified. All that changed on March 23, when the School Board abruptly announced that the story hours were now mandatory and opt outs would no longer be tolerated. The School Board’s new policy is unsound on virtually every level.

Muslim, Catholic, and Ukrainian Orthodox parents walk into court. …

No, it’s not the setup to a joke. It’s what happened two weeks ago, when the U. S. District Court for the District of Maryland heard oral arguments in a case involving parental rights and a controversial curriculum on sexuality and gender identity.

In Mahmoud v. McKnight, the court is considering whether religious parents have the right to be notified and opt their children out of a mandatory, LGBTQ+ “story hour” in a public elementary school. The case could significantly affect the ability of parents to follow the biblical command to “train up” their children in the way that they should go (Proverbs 22:6).

Though from a variety of religious backgrounds, the parents in this case share the belief that biological sex is “a God-given, immutable reality” and that sexuality between a man and a woman within marriage is a gift from God. They also share the belief that they have a sacred obligation to teach their children their respective faiths, including religiously grounded sexual ethics.

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