Overview

• In a 6-3 ruling, the Court reversed the Fourth Circuit and issued a preliminary injunction requiring Montgomery County Public Schools to offer opt-outs for LGBTQ-themed storybook lessons.
• Justice Samuel Alito wrote that barring opt-outs places an unconstitutional burden on parents’ free exercise of religion.
• The decision remands the case to lower courts for strict scrutiny review of the district’s inclusive curriculum policy.
• Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented, warning that mandated advance notice and opt-outs could create unworkable administrative burdens for public schools.
• Legal analysts say the ruling may prompt similar challenges nationwide over curricula that conflict with religious beliefs.