"Dhillon's statement specifically referenced Mahmoud v. Taylor, the 2025 Supreme Court decision, which said that schools must allow religious parents to opt their children out of any lessons acknowledging that LGBTQ+ people exist. The court agreed with the parents' claim that their First Amendment rights were violated when schools used books that included LGBTQ+ characters. The existence of queer people contradicts some parents' religious beliefs and, thus, violates their First Amendment right to direct their children's religious upbringing, the court said."
"Free speech and LGBTQ+ advocates denounced the court's ruling, saying that it forces public schools to exempt students from any lessons at all that don't align with their families' personal religious or cultural beliefs, including public education on wide-ranging topics llike Earth Day, critical thinking, and anti-drug programs. "Supreme Court precedent is clear: Parents have the right to direct the religious upbringing of their children, which includes exempting them from ideological instruction which conflicts with their families' sincerely held religious beliefs,""
The Department of Justice opened an investigation into Lansing, Detroit Public, and Godfrey-Lee school districts to determine whether parents were allowed to opt students out of sexual orientation and gender ideology (SOGI) instruction in pre-K–12 classes. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said the DOJ is committed to preventing local school authorities from embedding sexuality and gender ideology throughout public education and cited Mahmoud v. Taylor (2025), which held that schools must permit religious parents to opt children out of lessons acknowledging LGBTQ+ people. Critics warned the ruling could compel exemptions from broad curricular topics and programs beyond LGBT content.
Read at LGBTQ Nation
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