{"id":136569,"date":"2025-08-11T09:18:09","date_gmt":"2025-08-11T09:18:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/136569\/"},"modified":"2025-08-11T09:18:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-11T09:18:09","slug":"back-to-school-how-local-schools-libraries-will-be-affected-by-supreme-court-books-ruling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/136569\/","title":{"rendered":"Back to school: How local schools, libraries will be affected by Supreme Court books ruling"},"content":{"rendered":"

The June ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that Montgomery County, Maryland, public school parents who have religious objections should be able to opt-out their children when school lessons used five LGBTQ+ storybooks raises the question: How will the decision affect local school systems in the coming year?<\/p>\n

From vaping, the cost of school supplies to cellphone policies, the WTOP team is studying up on hot-button topics in education across the D.C. region. Follow on air and online in our series\u00a0\u201cWTOP Goes Back to School\u201d<\/a>\u00a0this August and September.<\/strong><\/p>\n

When D.C.-area school systems welcome students for the fall semester, teachers will be expected to offer alternative reading options if parents have religious objections to books chosen for a particular unit.<\/p>\n

The June ruling<\/a> by the U.S. Supreme Court that Montgomery County, Maryland, public school parents who have religious objections should have been able to pull their children out of the classroom when school lessons used five LGBTQ+ storybooks raises the question: How will the decision affect local school systems in the coming year?<\/p>\n

The Supreme Court ruling will only affect books required for classroom lessons, although local school systems say they will ensure that school libraries will contain age-appropriate offerings.<\/p>\n

With the six conservative justices in the majority, the court reversed lower-court rulings that had favored the Montgomery County school system. The high court ruled the schools likely could not require elementary school children to sit through lessons involving the books if parents expressed religious objections to the material.<\/p>\n

The decision,<\/a> in the form of a preliminary injunction rather than a final ruling in the case, said Montgomery County\u2019s decision to not allow children and families to \u201copt out\u201d when LGBTQ+ themed books were being used placed \u201can unconstitutional burden on the parents\u2019 rights to the free exercise of their religion,\u201d according to Justice Samuel Alito.<\/p>\n

The books involved in the case were \u201cPrince & Knight,\u201d \u201cUncle Bobby\u2019s Wedding,\u201d \u201cLove, Violet,\u201d \u201cBorn Ready\u201d and \u201cIntersection Allies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shortly after the ruling, Montgomery County\u2019s Board of Education and public school system said in a joint statement: \u201cAlthough not surprised, we are disappointed,\u201d and that they would continue to analyze the decision and develop next steps in alignment with the court\u2019s ruling.<\/p>\n

\u2018Concerns can be addressed\u2019<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cWe want our classrooms to be supportive and sensitive to all our students\u2019 experiences in Loudoun County. We know that we\u2019re preparing our students for the real world,\u201d Loudoun County Public School\u2019s Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning Neil Slevin said.<\/p>\n

Slevin said all of the school system\u2019s recommended book titles are publicly listed on the LCPS website. \u201cSo, if families are curious about what their students may be reading that year, they could go on our website and take a look, with the book descriptions and why that book was selected.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Slevin said students and families generally have five or six books to choose from, in a particular unit.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want students to feel a level of ownership and also choice of what they want to read,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Slevin said discussing concerns with their child\u2019s teacher is often productive.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of the time, when families are able to engage with our teachers around the content, or book selection, or how it\u2019s going to be taught, the concerns can be addressed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

However, in the event a family wants to opt-out their child from the half-dozen offerings, \u201cTeachers will work with them to choose a book that the student can engage with, and still meet the standards for that unit,\u201d Slevin said.<\/p>\n

In addition to classroom teaching materials, Slevin said, \u201cWe are aware that we need to be thinking about development appropriateness in our libraries.\u201d The Loudoun County school system has a procedure in which parents can challenge the appropriateness of books, both in curriculum and libraries.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve published \u2026 all the challenges that we\u2019ve received, and the results,\u201d he added. \u201cOftentimes, there\u2019s a book that\u2019s more appropriate for a high school audience that ends up in our middle schools \u2026 and then we\u2019d say, \u2018Why don\u2019t we move that into our high school libraries.’\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do want to be transparent about this,\u201d Slevin said. \u201cWe do want to engage with families who are concerned.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018All types of people exist in this world\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cTeachers are experts in both curriculum and child development,\u201d said Emily VanDerhoff, president of the Fairfax County Federation of Teachers. \u201cSo, the books and materials that they\u2019re going to select for their class \u2026 are going to be age and developmentally appropriate for the students.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the head of the teachers\u2019 union, \u201cEven if it\u2019s a book that covers themes including LGBTQIA themes, it\u2019s going to be done in a way that is appropriate for the age of the child.\u201d<\/p>\n

VanDerhoff said trained teachers don\u2019t offer opinions on whether seemingly controversial themes being taught and discussed are good or bad.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s more like, \u2018There\u2019s people that are going to be similar to you, there\u2019s people who are going to be different from you, and there\u2019s all types of people who exist in the world,’\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not value judgment,\u201d VanDerhoff added. \u201cIt\u2019s just getting along and understanding, having empathy for people who are different from yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

WTOP has made repeated requests for comment from Fairfax County Public Schools.<\/p>\n

Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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