Montgomery County must pay $1.5M to religious parents after Supreme Court ruling
February 24, 2026
A federal judge has ordered Maryland’s largest school district to pay $1.5 million to parents who sued the school system after it removed parental notice and opt-outs for LGBT-themed storybooks aimed at children as young as 4.
The Christian Post reports that U.S. District Judge Deborah L. Boardman issued a financial judgment and a permanent injunction, in her Thursday ruling.
Boardman’s decision comes after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last June that Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland cannot require children to be exposed to LGBT-themed books in the curriculum without parental consent.
The Montgomery County Board of Education must allow parents the right to opt their child out if it conflicts with the family’s religious beliefs and must notify parents in advance when instructional materials will feature LGBT content.
Parental notification can take place in several ways, including “publishing via email to parents, prior to each marking period, descriptions of all core instructional texts and supplemental texts and materials (including videos) that have been approved for use during the marking period for each grade level.”
According to the Christian Post, Eric Baxter, senior counsel at Becket and lead attorney for the parents, said in a statement: “This settlement enforces the Supreme Court’s ruling and ensures parents, not government bureaucrats, have the final say in how their children are raised.”
The school board had initially allowed parents to exempt their children from reading LGBT-themed materials, but later revoked this option.
That move sparked a court battle that would eventually find its way to the U.S. Supreme Court where, last year, Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the court: “The practice of educating one’s children in one’s religious beliefs, like all religious acts and practices, receives a generous measure of protection from our Constitution.”
Alito added, “And this is not merely a right to teach religion in the confines of one’s own home. Rather, it extends to the choices that parents wish to make for their children outside the home.”
Photo: top, Credit: Samanthan Kamman/The Christian Post