It was former President Barack Obama in 2009 who, after his election, reminded us that "elections have consequences." Today, those words are more true than ever, and a group of Maryland parents are finding that out. On Thursday, a Maryland court ruled that parents do not have "a fundamental right" to opt their kids out of reading books that contain LGBT content in Montgomery County Public Schools, despite the parents' contention that the material violated their religious beliefs. The district had maintained a previous policy that allowed parents to opt their kids out of reading such material. The district had originally stated that parents would be notified when the materials would be used in class. But in March of this year, the district announced that the policy had been rescinded and that notification would no longer be provided to parents with children in the district. 

The cancellation of the policy brought parents of many religious faiths and backgrounds together with one common goal: being able to have a say in what is being taught to their children. In July, hundreds of parents and students protested against the elimination of the opt-out policy in front of the offices of the Montgomery County Schools to voice their opposition. The no-opt-out policy was scheduled to be in place for the 2023-2024 school year. Parents had tried to get the opt-out policy reinstated, but in her ruling, Biden-appointed Judge Deborah L. Boardman stated:

[Parents'] asserted due process right to direct their children's upbringing by opting out of a public-school curriculum that conflicts with their religious views is not a fundamental right.

Boardman also denied parents a preliminary injunction that would allow for the opt-out policy when school starts on Aug. 28. She went on to say in her ruling:

The no-opt-out policy does not pressure the parents to refrain from teaching their faiths, to engage in conduct that would violate their religious beliefs, or to change their religious beliefs. The policy may pressure them to discuss the topics raised by the storybooks with their children, but those discussions are anticipated, not prohibited, by the parents’ faiths. The parents are not pressured into violating their religious beliefs in order to obtain the benefits of a public education.

The no-opt-out policy not only forces students to read and engage with LGBT material at school, but it also forces parents to have discussions with children about those topics that do go against religious beliefs being taught at home. The policy does not just affect older children. Children as young as pre-K are exposed to material that references gay pride parades, gender transition, and pronoun preference. The material is used in classrooms through the eighth grade.

While Judge Boardman's decision may remind parents who vote that elections do indeed have consequences, parents around the nation are fighting back against LGBT propaganda being forced upon their children, and it begins early. In June, in Massachusetts, parents at a middle school protested Pride Month events. In Connecticut, eight, nine, and ten-year-olds were shown videos celebrating gender identity and then received "puberty kits" to take home. Even in ultra-liberal California, parents are fighting back. In Huntington Beach, high school students were forced to watch a pride video in, of all places, math class. The teacher threatened them with a year of Saturday school attendance if they were "inappropriate." Does "inappropriate" mean disagreement? And in North Hollywood, parents kept kids out of school for a pride day event. In the case of the Connecticut elementary school, the video and puberty kits were all done without parental knowledge. That may present Judge Boardman with another question: Should parents even be allowed to know that their children are being taught something that goes against their religious beliefs, or is that also not a "fundamental right?" 

Despite the best efforts of the Department of Education and their willing accomplices, the teachers' unions, who are not even trying to hide anymore, the fact that they are figuring out how to insert topics like gender identity into classroom lessons under the parental radar, there are more and more options becoming available for parents when it comes to their children's education. One of those options may be to "opt out" of public schools altogether. 

Parental input in public school classrooms will definitely be on the ballot in 2024, and once again, elections will have consequences.