Supreme Court sides with parents who objected to kids' books on gender identity, sexuality

Washington — The Supreme Court on Friday ruled in favor of a group of Maryland parents who challenged their school district's decision to deny them the ability to opt their elementary-aged children out of instruction featuring storybooks that address gender identity and sexual orientation.

The high court said in a 6-3 decision in the case of Mahmoud v. Taylor that the government burdens parents' religious exercise of parents when it requires their children to participate in instruction that violates the families' religious beliefs. Justice Samuel Alito authored the majority opinion, with the three liberal justices — Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson — in dissent.

The court's conservative majority said that the parents who brought the case are entitled to a preliminary injunction while their lawsuits proceed. The high court ordered the board to notify parents in advance when one of the story books at issue in the case will be used, and allow them to have their kids excused from the instruction.