The Montgomery County School District in Maryland has removed parents’ rights to opt their children out of certain parts of the curriculum and has made LGBTQ-themed books required reading.
The district has made multiple controversial books mandatory reading for its English language arts curriculum as part of an “LGBTQ-inclusive reading list.”
“MCPS keeps painting these books as rainbow unicorn which they are not,” Moms for Liberty Montgomery chapter president Lindsey Smith told Fox News.
Smith said her three-year-old was assigned a book called “Pride Puppy” and an ABC book with images of drag queens under “Q for Queen.”
The report explains, “while several parents requested a policy to opt out of these books, a recently updated policy by the school board insisted that students will be required to ‘engage’ with these materials. In addition, parents will no longer be required to be informed on which books will be included on the lists.”
“Students and families may not choose to opt out of engaging with any instructional materials, other than ‘Family Life and Human Sexuality Unit of Instruction’ which is specifically permitted by Maryland law. As such, teachers will not send home letters to inform families when inclusive books are read in the future,” MCPS’ policy reads.
It’s not just conservatives who oppose the required materials.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and Montgomery County Muslim Council also oppose the district’s decision.
“We’re trying to be respectful of these groups and their rights, but at the same time, we’re saying our rights need to be represented based off of our belief systems,” Montgomery County Muslim Council President Asif Husain told Fox News.
CAIR has launched a petition demanding parental notification of certain books and restoring the option to opt-out.
“By introducing sexually-themed lessons and materials as part of the school curriculum without advance parental notice, an opt-out option or another reasonable religious accommodation, MCPS is violating the rights of parents and guardians, and undermining Maryland state law, which requires parents or guardians to have the option to remove their children from ‘Family Life and Human Sexuality’ content,” the petition says.
Concerned parents will be speaking out at board meetings, according to Smith.
“We just are parents who see the push to indoctrinate young kids on sexual identity and push this gender ideology on young kids, who just want to play dress up, play and learn. It’s not about academia, so why are we teaching it? Only 31% of our kids in the highest ‘academia’ county can pass math in the newest data released,” Smith told Fox News Digital. “Many parents feel this has nothing to do with equity and inclusion because why aren’t other groups in their community represented?”
When President Donald Trump won the election, MCPS offered a “special curriculum” to “help students cope” with the election results.
The district borders Washington, DC.
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