The Culture War Goes To Court

Three recently decided SCOTUS cases were family-friendly.

Author: Larry Sand

June 1 marked the 100th anniversary of Pierce v. Society of Sisters. This landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision struck down an Oregon law that prohibited parents from educating their children in private and religious schools and required public school attendance.

Justice James McReynolds wrote, “The child is not the mere creature of the state,” which summed up the majority opinion in the decision.

A century later, however, the battle continues. On June 27, SCOTUS ruled 6–3 that Maryland parents who have religious objections can pull their children from public school lessons using “LGBTQ+ inclusive” storybooks. The Mahmoud v. Taylor decision maintains that parents have a fundamental right to direct their children’s moral and religious upbringing, and that parental rights don’t end at the classroom door.

Children aged 5-11 were required to read or listen to stories such as Prince & Knight, about two male knights who marry each other; Love Violet, about two young girls falling in love; and Born Ready: The True Story of a Boy Named Penelope, about a biological girl transitioning to a boy.

It’s important to note that the dissenting parents didn’t challenge the curriculum or demand that the district banish the controversial books. They simply wanted to be notified and have the opportunity to opt their children out of inappropriate and objectionable indoctrination provided at government-run schools. They did not advocate for schools to teach a specific religion or beliefs, but rather, they only asked that schools respect parents’ constitutional right to guide their children’s moral development.

Justices Jackson, Sotomayor, and Kagan dissented. In her opinion, Sotomayor incoherently argued that the majority was trying to allow parents to separate their children from experiences that are “critical to our Nation’s civic vitality” and would sow “chaos” in public schools across the United States.

She added that “an education and an opportunity to practice living in our multicultural society will become a mere memory if children must be insulated from exposure to ideas and concepts that may conflict with their parents’ religious beliefs.”

Those who believe that children ultimately belong to the state were outraged by the Court’s decision. National Education Association president Becky Pringle stated, “Students pay the price when books are censored and educators are silenced.”

Pringle added, “Today, in the ruling on Mahmoud v. Taylor, the Supreme Court failed students. They have discounted and ignored the expertise of trained educational professionals and harmed students in the process. Shameful.” 

It’s important to note that a survey from the Pew Research Center found that half of K-12 teachers don’t believe students should learn about gender identity in the classroom. However, it also means that over a million teachers are comfortable teaching the subject.

In another 6–3 decision issued on June 27, SCOTUS upheld a Texas law requiring pornographic websites to verify users’ ages before granting access.

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