WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and U.S. Representative Robert B. Aderholt (R-AL), chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, along with 64 Republican lawmakers filed an amicus brief to the U.S Supreme Court in Mahmoud v. Taylor. The brief supports parents’ constitutional right to be notified of and able to opt their children out of a school’s teaching of radical gender ideology that violates their religious beliefs.
“Requiring children to be taught gender and sexuality subject matter that violates their family’s religious beliefs is unconstitutional,” said Dr. Cassidy. “Parents have the right to know what their child is learning in school. I am proud to co-lead this amicus brief defending parents’ constitutional right to raise their child in the manner they choose.”
“Parents have a fundamental right to guide their children's education and upbringing, especially when it involves sensitive topics that intersect with their deeply held beliefs,” said Representative Aderholt. “The government should never force children to be exposed to materials that contradict their family's values without parental knowledge or consent. I stand with parents in their fight to ensure they have a say in what their children are taught in the classroom.”
In November 2022, the Montgomery County, Maryland School Board introduced over 20 new books into pre-K through eighth-grade classrooms focused on gender identity and sexuality. Parents were initially told that they would be informed when these books would be read in the classroom and that they would have the opportunity to opt their children out. However, in March 2023, the school board rescinded the parental notification policy, stating it would no longer notify parents or allow requests to opt-out.
The amicus brief argues that this policy violates parents’ constitutional right to control the religious upbringing of their children on such sensitive matters as those surrounding gender and sexuality. Specifically, the brief argues that the school board’s policy is not required by federal antidiscrimination law and lacks a compelling governmental justification to violate the parents’ First Amendment religious freedom rights. It also argues that decades of federal statutes passed by Congress affirm parental rights in education and support the plaintiffs’ arguments that they must be given notice and an opportunity to opt their children out of learning such material.
Cassidy and Aderholt are joined by U.S. Senators Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Jim Justice (R-WV), Ashley Moody (R-FL), Tim Scott (R-SC), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Steve Daines (R-MT), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), James Lankford (R-OK), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Ted Budd (R-NC), Mike Lee (R-UT), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Tim Sheehy (R-MT), and Jim Banks (R-IN).
They are also joined by U.S. Representatives Steve Scalise (R-LA), Troy Nehls (R-TX), Mary Miller (R-IL), Virginia Foxx (R-NC), Lance Gooden (R-TX), Glenn Grothman (R-WI), Warren Davidson (R-OH), Andy Harris (R-MD), Jake Ellzey (R-TX), Michael Rulli (R-OH), Jodey Arrington (R-TX), Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN), Mark Green (R-TN), Doug LaMalfa (R-CA), Keith Self (R-TX), Josh Brecheen (R-OK), Clay Higgins (R-LA), Bob Onder (R-MO), Gary Palmer (R-AL), Abe Hamadeh (R-AZ), Andrew Clyde (R-GA), Mark Messmer (R-IN), David Rouzer (R-NC), John Moolenaar (R-MI), Pete Stauber (R-MN), Pat Harrigan (R-NC), John McGuire (R-VA), Adrian Smith (R-NE), Harriet Hageman (R-WY), Diana Harshbarger (R-TN), Chris Smith (R-NJ), Rick Allen (R-GA), Morgan Griffith (R-VA), Brian Babin (R-TX), Troy Downing (R-MT), Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA), Michael Cloud (R-TX), Sheri Biggs (R-SC), Daniel Webster (R-FL), John Rose (R-TN), Riley Moore (R-WV), Michael Guest (R-MS), Ashley Hinson (R-IA), Derek Schmidt (R-KS), Brandon Gill (R-TX), Dusty Johnson (R-SD), and Andy Ogles (R-TN).
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