Below is my column in The Hill on the ruling in Mahmoud v. Taylor in favor of parents who want to withdraw their children from LGBTQ lessons in public schools. I agreed with the majority, but it was Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s dissent (joined by Justices Kagan and Jackson) that was the most striking in its apocalyptic take on allowing parents to remove their children from these classes. Despite the fact that various opt-outs have been allowed for parents, this one is deemed a threat to the very essence of public education.
Here is the column:
The end is nigh.
That seems to be the message this week from the three liberal justices at the Supreme Court when faced with the nightmarish prospect of parents being able to remove their young children from mandatory classes on gay, lesbian and transgender material.
The decision in Mahmoud v. Taylor was a roaring victory for parents in public schools. The Montgomery County, Md. school system fought to require the reading of 13 “LGBTQ+-inclusive” texts in the English and Language Arts curriculum for kids from pre-K through 12th grade. That covers children just 5-11 years old.
The children are required to read or listen to stories like “Prince & Knight” about two male knights who marry each other, and “Love Violet” about two young girls falling in love. Another, “Born Ready: The True Story of a Boy Named Penelope,” discusses a biological girl who begins a transition to being a boy.
Teachers were informed that this was mandatory reading, which must be assigned, and that families would not be allowed to opt out. The guidelines for teachers made clear that students had to be corrected if they expressed errant or opposing views of gender. If a child questions how someone born a boy could become a girl, teachers were encouraged to correct the child and declare, “That comment is hurtful!”
Even if a student merely asks, “What’s transgender?,” teachers are expected to say, “When we’re born, people make a guess about our gender and label us ‘boy’ or ‘girl’ based on our body parts. Sometimes they’re right and sometimes they’re wrong.”
Teachers were specifically told to “[d]isrupt” thinking or values opposing transgender views.
Many families sought to opt out of these lessons. The school allows for such opt-outs for a variety of reasons, but the Board ruled out withdrawals for these lessons. Ironically, it noted that so many families were upset and objecting that it would be burdensome to allow so many kids to withdraw.
The Montgomery County school system is one of the most diverse in the nation. And Christian, Muslim, and other families objected to the mandatory program as undermining their religious and moral values.
The majority on the Supreme Court ruled that, as with other opt-outs, Montgomery County must allow parents to withdraw their children from these lessons. The response from liberal groups was outrage. Liberal sites declared “another victory for right-wing culture warriors,” even though the public overwhelmingly supported these parents.
However, the most overwrought language came not from liberal advocates but liberal justices.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor declared that there “will be chaos for this nation’s public schools” and both education and children will “suffer” if parents are allowed to opt their children out of these lessons. She also worried about the “chilling effect” of the ruling, which would make schools more hesitant to offer such classes in the future. It was a particularly curious concern, since parents would like teachers to focus more on core subjects and show greater restraint in pursuing social agendas.
The majority pushed back against “the deliberately blinkered view” of the three liberal justices on dismissing the objections of so many families to these lessons. Nevertheless, even though such material was only recently added and made mandatory, the liberal justices declared that “the damage to America’s public education system will be profound” and “threatens the very essence of public education.”
The truth is that this decision could actually save public education in the U.S.
Previously, during oral argument, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson had shocked many when she dismissed the objections of parents, stating that they could simply remove their children from public schools. It was a callous response to many families who do not have the means to pay for private or parochial schools.
Yet, it is a view previously expressed by many Democratic politicians and school officials. State Rep. Lee Snodgrass (D-Wis.) once insisted: “If parents want to ‘have a say’ in their child’s education, they should homeschool or pay for private school tuition out of their family budget.”
Iowa school board member Rachel Wall said: “The purpose of a public ed is to not teach kids what the parents want. It is to teach them what society needs them to know. The client is not the parent, but the community.”
These parents still harbor the apparently misguided notion that these remain their children.
Today, many are indeed following Jackson’s advice and leaving public schools. The opposition of public-sector unions and many Democratic politicians to school vouchers is precisely because families are fleeing the failing public school systems. Once they are no longer captive to the system, they opt for private schools that offer a greater focus on basic educational subjects and less emphasis on social activism.
Our public schools are imploding. Some are lowering standards to achieve “equity” and graduating students without proficiency skills. Families are objecting to the priority given to political and social agendas to make their kids better people when they lack math, science, and other skills needed to compete in an increasingly competitive marketplace.
This decision may well save public schools from themselves by encouraging a return to core educational priorities.
It may offer some cover for more moderate school officials to push back against such demands for mandatory readings to young children.
What the majority calls “the deliberately blinkered view” of the dissent could just as well describe the delusional position of public school boards and unions. Schools are facing rising debt and severe declines in enrollment, yet unions in states like Illinois are demanding even more staff increases and larger expenditures.
The liberal justices are right about one thing: This is a fight over “the essence of public education.” However, it is the parents, not the educators (or these justices) who are trying to restore public education to meet the demands for a diverse nation.
Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University and the best-selling author of “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.”
*. The final criticism goes to the majority opinion. The opinion falls short in determining the plaintiffs can opt out leaving children , all other children subject to this deranged behavior that classifies as pedophilia.
Get out of public education. Sell the farm and get out of it, parents. It’s child abuse.
* ^ The target audience are children 5-11 years old, pre-pubescent.
Did the people feel relieved by the ability to opt-out and feel an accomplishment? Consider never was this in public education curriculum. That was taken away and parents abused. THEN a crumb is returned and you say what? That’s good, that crumb was good? Take the entire restoration.
That’s how they work
In establishing a new normative. Take it all, restore a crumb. Oh yay! The crumb is mine? We won?
Insanity, cruelty. I’d have had a special dissent. A dissent due to a lack of complete restoration and where the hello is the class action here? THIS is limited to 3 children, right?
*. Classifies as moral turpitude.
Yeah, sell it. You’ll need the money for special political schools you really want.
Ketanji Brown Jackson issues this powerful dissent in a landmark ruling:
*. There is something to say about this Latin woman as an incon of embarrassment to many mainstream, conservative Americans first and foremost before the lookism of Latin comes into play in the form of racism.
Americans, Justice Sotomayor, with Latin features are at an increase for racist discrimination in the form of of racial slurs such as wet back, cholo, taco vendor, greaser more than ever and by you spewing of progressive idiocy are hurt, shamed now for your wise Latina characterization.
You’ve HURT them to the limit of humiliation. My God to those good Americans who’ve suffered at the hands of this quack and encourage you to remember Senator Ted Cruz and Governor Ron DeSantis as Latin examples and NOT this hack of embarrassment along with Cortez, Becerra, Padilla, Abrego Garcia, Ms 13, Barrio 18 of shame.
To the remainder of Americans who might think and use racial slurs because of these examples, stop it. 😢
^^^ I like it because of the errors as if stuttering in outrage.
* icon + other errors.
If I were a robot I have failed the Turing Test. ☺
Gads! I can imaging the damage that could be done to our society if the Liberal Progressives do get to Pack The Courts.
The end of public education will be a highly welcome outcome. Instead of having to pay exorbitant taxes to support heavily unionized propagandists and their administrators in the public school system, we will be able to put our money toward much more efficient private education from highly competitive providers of our choice concentrating on the subjects of greatest value to us and teaching at the levels most befitting the individual students. Note that public education was rare during the years when the United States was growing fastest relative to other nations. Note, also, that many of the greatest innovators in our history were self-taught. This is another matter about which Word from Future by Rock Pig is foresightful.
*. Justice Alito wrote the opinion in Mahmood v. Taylor. Will read. Can’t bear listening to arguments anymore.
Mahmoud is islamic in this case. As for Christians, the 1st command is thou shalt have no other gods before Me. Well, Christians you do. This tells us there are other gods. If you do, there is no doubt God will leave your land. Allah has entered the void, atheism entered and the guru entered as well as Buddha.
The idea of freely express your religion is a for or against idea. If you’re a judge and a friend comes before you you’ll give him a lighter sentence. The same judge having an enemy come before him gets a longer sentence. Both are wrong. The same true for laws written hostile to religion. Including lessons in adultery is clearly wrong because it’s hostile to the religion’s beliefs. There shall be no laws means for or against.
The founders’ religion was Christian. Those are the adopted moral standards for the laws written in the land. Lgbt suffer no criminal laws as they do in Iran but it is expected that every constitutionalist and citizen is familiar with the 10 moral imperatives of the United States.
Parents wanting to teach humanism or any variety of anti Christian beliefs can do so. Online education in lgbt is purchasable. CDs are purchasable. These citizens are free to do so.
The opinion included portions of the required storybooks for children. They teach adultery. Adultery is not part of State adopted curriculum no matter what it’s called as inclusivity.
People are tired of it and Christians you’ve broken the 1st command via ignorance.
* . The books are press and speech v. Religion. They have differing constraints in 1A. Shall be no law as to religion and press and speech don’t have that constraint. Assembly has the constraint peaceful and to address a grievance.
Islam to Christians is an immoral religion because it’s moral laws are immoral. There are many conflicts among religions.
Can lgbt write and publish children’s books regarding what are anti religious ideas? What law says yes? What law says no? These are books for minors. Do Christian moral standards of the founders prevent this? Is this a limitation on speech and press for minors?
What about cartoon movies, justiceJackson, showing pedophilia? The people involved are cartoons. Pedophiles have freedom of press and speech just not the action of pedophilia? Isn’t and wasn’t that your conclusion when Buraq Obama asked you to change sentencing that pedophilia in speech and press are rights of the pedophile and must be included in our glorious nation?
There’s no limit. For now parents enjoy OPT OUT only, when we all know it’s all perfectly fine speech and press and really conduct and behavior are fine, too.
For now parents can opt out.
*. Congress in 1A. Schools, public schools are purchasing these books for minors with public money and teachers are paid with public money. It’s speech and press by a private publisher and sold to public schools. These privately published books are on the open market and parents can purchase them. There freedom of speech and press have not been abridged. Religious people attend public schools and exercise their religion publicly and privately and congress shall pass no law for or against in the words respecting nor prohibiting. Pedophilia and adultery are immoral principles and shall not be taught publicly by the purchase of books from private publishers.
Private theaters open to the public purveying cartoon images of pedophiles and cartoon conduct is acceptable, right, justice jackson? Purveyors of child porn are subject only to their own instincts, right, justice sotomayor and Kagan?
Private published works purchased is unacceptable public commerce engaging adultery and pedophilia by sexualizing children.
Soend your own dime for the peep show.
*^ spend
It’s an attempt to change the normative. Anyone can write and publish a children’s book with pictures titled- This is Full of Sh!t. I demand public schools purchase it and it comes with lesson plans. Another one- Pedophiles are Lurking, pictures included.
Shaddup
* ^^^ LAST COMMENT
In the Cruz questioning of Jackson’s sentencing, there’s a very serious understanding present—>
If realistic cartoon images are used in movies for pedophile enjoyment ( no one knows what that is) they are covered by free speech and press as it has no apparent limits.
Go ahead and open theaters and magazine racks. As in this case it must be “love”. Justice Jackson, Sotomayor and Kagan know that. In fact Jackson gave lighter sentences knowing that to the clients of fine aesthetics insexuality.
It isn’t acceptable to mention islamists within the US currently have multiple unregister wives many of whom are minors. Morality is geographical.
^^^ . When questioned by Senator Cruz, about her sentencing of viewers of child porn, justice Jackson was evasive.
It is and was noted these weren’t realistic cartoon movies of pedophilia. These were movies with real people, children were being abused and recorded and shopped out.
These movies had real victims, Justice Jackson? Did it ever occur to you to ask his motive for such viewing? What is it he finds so enjoyable jackson? Is it the cruelty? The man before you wasn’t a designated reporter so he didn’t report it? What kind of mind without conscience doesn’t report it required or not.
Impeach her.
*. Schools and teachers are authority figures. The age of the child v. Authority of an adult is part of this case. It does in fact draw the conclusion that my religion is a lie. My parents lie to me or I don’t trust my school, my teacher. They lie to me setting up the child for distrust.
*. Life is too short to continue in such hostility. Segregation is preferable to unending unhappiness. Segregation by State would be superior to such strife.
Objectively it is true the left lies, gaslights, is immoral, does harm etc. Separate and form schools on the left or right. It’s truly unbearable.
The federal gov can decrease in size and only proceed with work such as interstate roads. There’s a time to peaceably separate. The union will be based in similarities of interest. There are democrat sanctuary cities and States already meaning theyve seceded. The right can form refuge States.
It’s wrong to be so hostile and angry all of the time. The pursuit of happiness matters. In this way the left has destroyed the union. In this way they’ve accomplished their goal. Give bad people heaven and they’ll transform it into hell.
Congrats.
Awesome! Its genuinely remarkable post, I have got much clear idea regarding from this post
“. . . require the reading of 13 “LGBTQ+-inclusive” texts [. . .]. That covers children just *5-11 years old*.” (JT, emphasis added)
There used to be a basic principle of education called “age- and stage-appropriate learning.”
That principle is why, for example, calculus is taught *after* arithmetic, et al. And it’s why you don’t teach psychologically complex novels, e.g., _The Scarlet Letter_, to a five-year old.
That principle is why a curriculum, properly speaking, is hierarchical.
As with all things it touches, the Left declares about that venerable principle: “Screw it. We’re doing whatever we feel like doing.”
It’s shocking 2A wasn’t actually used.
Those DEI hires may end up being declared illegal after all:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/06/reviewing-certain-presidential-actions/
I would love to ask one of these board members or judges if they can show me an example of a human transitioning from XX to XY or XY to XX.
Absolutely,,, common sense should be used,, follow the science! This litmus test is IRREFUTABLE. In recorded history whenever sodomy has crawled out from under the dark place it hides in,,,, societies have crumbled. It has existed as perversion for the entirety of human presence on this planet, built to destroy the God ordained family unit.
I would love to ask one of these board members or judges if they can show me an example of a human transitioning from XX to XY or XY to XX.
I taught school decades ago as my first career. I was given an extensive list of educational objectives, most of which were academic, such as reading and writing skills, mathematics, civics and social studies. The students were expected to behave and conduct themselves with polite manners.
We did not as teachers apply corporal punishment, but it was an option that was occasionally applied by the principal, who had spent 25 years as a teacher before becoming the headmaster.
These children were from largely impoverished and sometimes broken homes. They craved order and discipline.Children have an uncanny sense of detecting fake teachers and administrators. They crave security and the knowledge that those rules and order are for their protection.
The activists and armchair quarterback politicians have ruined our education system. They can’t keep their fingers out of it and have turned it into a social experiment. The results are devastating.
Many teachers are there because of a calling and despite corruption in the bloated administration, they keep doing their job with passion. Unfortunately, there are those who don’t.
It is tragedy. What has been allowed in our schools. I saw the writing on the wall years ago and left the profession.
There is no historical evidences of suicidal children because they were denied so called LGBTQ++ indoctrination. Years ago, boys were more fearful of getting “girl cooties.”
Democrats do not appear to grasp that, there are only two choices:
Public Education that has the support of the overwhelming majority of people.
No public education.
Those on the left ranting that people should home school their kids or send them to private school if they do not want them indoctrinated, do not seem to grasp that growing numbers are doing just that,
And they are voting for increasing [public education funding for private schools.
At some point it becomes trivial to say – Why are we funding left wing public school indoctrination camps that waste their time drilling nonsense into kids ?
There is an enormous difference between teaching tolerance for peoples differences and choices and actually indoctrinating people.
This school board crossed that line and then drove over it repeatedly.
There is reasonable evidence that a tiny portion of people are trans. There is zero evidence of any cause for that.
We do not “guess” at a persons sex at birth.