SW News: Hundreds of parents gathered outside the Montgomery County Board of Education in the American state of Maryland demanding the state's largest school district should allow them to shield their children from being indoctrinated by books and lessons that contain homosexual content. The parents argued that the children should be allowed to opt out of a curriculum that is against their religious convictions.
The Montgomery County Board of Schools (MCPS) announced the attempts to integrate a reading list including topics such as homosexuality into its English language curriculum last year. Despite numerous requests from parents for a policy allowing parents to opt their children out, the school board insisted that students should engage with these materials.
The MCPS policy stated that students and families "may not choose to opt out of engaging with any instructional materials, other than 'Family Life and Human Sexuality Unit of Instruction,' which is specifically permitted by Maryland law. As such, teachers will not send home letters to inform families when inclusive books are read in the future."
The Board's policy to introduce these books is to be implemented during the 2023 to 2024 academic year.
Parents belonging to Islamic, Christian, Jewish, and Hindu faiths participated in Tuesday’s demonstration.
The largest public school system in Maryland, Montgomery County, is located within the greater Washington, DC metropolitan region, and more than 160,000 children are enrolled here.