Religious Accommodations Are Good for Liberalism

"When the Supreme Court handed down its opinion in Mahmoud v. Taylor this summer, liberal parents and advocates were understandably alarmed. The Court sided with the plaintiffs, parents from Montgomery County, Maryland, who wanted their young children excused from reading and discussing books on sexual orientation and gender identity. In so doing, it recognized a constitutional right to opt out of specific classroom content that conflicts with one's religious beliefs and imposed an obligation on school districts to proactively notify parents when such a conflict might occur in classroom instruction. This new right will be burdensome to administer and opens the door to bad-faith attempts to abuse accommodation requests."

"The case began in 2022, when Montgomery County Public Schools introduced a set of storybooks in kindergarten through fifth grade to expand representation and prompt classroom conversations about gender identity and sexual orientation. At the time, MCPS granted a request from parents to be notified of the upcoming lessons and allowed to opt-out. But when more families than expected took advantage of the opt-out, MCPS in 2023 reversed course-removing the notification policy and eliminating the possibility of accommodation for the parents' religious beliefs."

Supreme Court decision in Mahmoud v. Taylor recognized a constitutional right for parents to opt children out of specific classroom content that conflicts with religious beliefs and required proactive parental notification by school districts. The ruling will increase administrative burdens and may invite bad-faith accommodation requests. The decision also creates an opportunity to recommit to public education's mission of serving all students, including those whose religious beliefs differ from local culture. Inclusion must avoid coercion and practice pluralism through reciprocity. Montgomery County rescinded notification after higher-than-expected opt-outs, eliminating accommodations and treating inclusion as imposed.

Read at The Atlantic