Last month’s Supreme Court ruling in Mahmoud v. Taylor is a landmark victory for parental rights in education, reaffirming exactly 100 years after Pierce v. Society of Sisters (1925) that “the child is not the mere creature of the State.”
In a 6-3 decision, the Court held that Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland violated parents’ First Amendment rights by denying them the ability to opt their children out of instruction involving LGBTQ-themed storybooks. The ruling, grounded in religious liberty, upholds the fundamental right of parents to direct the upbringing of their children — a principle rooted in Pierce, which struck down an Oregon law banning private education.
Justice Samuel Alito, writing for the majority, declared that forcing children into instruction that poses “a very real threat of undermining” their parents’ religious beliefs is an unconstitutional burden on free exercise.
This decision puts wind in the sails of the parental rights movement, empowering families to raise the alarm when school districts trample on their freedoms. It sends a clear signal nationwide: kids do not belong to the government. Schools cannot mandate exposure to gender ideology over parental objections.
Yet, while this ruling echoes Pierce’s century-old wisdom, it falls short of the full solution. The Court’s focus on religious liberty leaves parents with non-religious objections without clear recourse, and the opt-out remedy fails to address the deeper issue: a government school system that compels families to fund and participate in education that disregards their values.
Families should be able to opt their children out of content that conflicts with their values regardless of whether the reason has anything to do with religion. The true answer lies in universal school choice, where parents can take their children’s education dollars to schools that align with their beliefs.
The Mahmoud v. Taylor case arose when Montgomery County parents challenged a school district policy mandating exposure to storybooks promoting gender ideology. Initially, parents could opt out, but in 2023, the district reversed course, citing “inclusivity” and logistical concerns. Represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, the parents argued that this violated their First Amendment right to freely exercise their religion.
The Court agreed, citing precedents like Pierce v. Society of Sisters (1925) and Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972), which upheld parents’ rights to direct their children’s education when state mandates conflict with faith. Alito emphasized that denying opt-outs forces parents into an impossible choice: expose their children to objectionable content or pay for costly alternatives like private schools or homeschooling.
This victory builds on a recent California ruling in S.E. v. Grey, where a federal judge found that the Encinitas Union School District violated students’ free speech rights and parents’ religious liberty by compelling participation in a “buddy program” involving gender ideology instruction. The court ruled that forcing a fifth-grader to teach a kindergartner about gender fluidity using My Shadow Is Pink constituted compelled speech, drawing parallels to West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (1943). The judge ordered advance notice and opt-out rights, reinforcing that schools cannot force ideological conformity.
These rulings clarify that schools must respect parental rights, but they expose a broader problem: the government school system itself is a form of compelled speech. Every state requires taxpayers to fund public schools and enforces compulsory education laws, yet parents have little control over curricula shaped by bureaucrats and special interests.
This one-size-fits-all model inherently discriminates against families with diverse beliefs, forcing them to subsidize education that may conflict with their values — religious or otherwise.
The Mahmoud ruling’s reliance on religious liberty is a limitation. Families should be able to opt their children out of content that conflicts with their values whether their objections are religious, moral, philosophical, or practical.
The First Amendment protects freedom of belief broadly, not just religious exercise. Moreover, opt-outs are a half-measure, burdening parents with constant vigilance to monitor curricula. The Court should take its reasoning further, recognizing that the government school system violates First Amendment rights by compelling families to fund and participate in a system that disregards their beliefs, a concern as relevant today as it was in Pierce a century ago.
The ultimate solution is school choice. Families shouldn’t just opt out of specific lessons — they should have the power to opt out of any government school that fails to align with their values. This solution respects the diversity of a pluralistic society, where parents naturally disagree on how to raise their children.
The Mahmoud v. Taylor ruling is a call to action. One hundred years after Pierce v. Society of Sisters declared that children are not the state’s to control, parents must demand more than opt-outs — they must push for universal school choice to break the government school monopoly.
School districts are now on notice: children belong to their parents, not the state. This victory, while significant, is incomplete. Only by empowering all families to choose their children’s education can we truly honor parental rights and ensure education reflects the needs of every child.
