Reading stories with my children has always been a source of joy for me. It’s a time to bond, share laughter, and spark their imaginations. But never in my wildest dreams did I think children’s storybooks would send me to the steps of the Supreme Court.
When my local school board stripped away parents’ right to opt out of storybooks that promote controversial gender ideology, I knew I had to act. I joined a group of like-minded parents to fight for the restoration of our rights. Now, the Justices can uphold the principle that it is parents—not government authorities—who should guide their children’s education.
In 2022, the Montgomery County Board of Education in Maryland rolled out new “inclusivity” storybooks for K-5 classrooms, claiming they aimed to foster kindness and respect—values all parents hope to instill in their children. However, these books went beyond teaching virtues and instead spotlighted themes like pride parades, gender transitions, and inappropriate romance for pre-kindergarten students. One title even suggests children look up terms such as “underwear,” “leather,” and “drag queen.”
Like hundreds of other parents, my husband and I didn’t want our children exposed to the books. We teach our children to love others, to be kind, and to treat everyone with dignity. But we also teach them that our identity as male and female is an unchanging part of who we are, and that sexuality is a gift from God. These aren’t casual preferences—they are convictions rooted in our Christian faith.
Despite our concern, we felt reassured knowing we could opt our kids out of these books. That common-sense rule is required by Maryland law, the school board’s policies, and had been the status quo in Montgomery County for decades. As a Montgomery County native, I remember my own parents excusing me from classroom lessons that violated our family’s faith. Initially, the school board told parents we still had that right. Then it abruptly reversed course.
In March 2023, the school board abruptly ended opt-out options for the books and refused to notify parents when they would be read. This reversed the County’s long-standing respect for parental rights and left Montgomery County as a rare outlier, with 47 states and D.C. still allowing parents to excuse their children from lessons on human sexuality.
With support from the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, we sued the board in federal court, but both the district and appeals courts declined to give us the relief we need. Last year, we turned to the Supreme Court, which agreed in January to hear our case, and oral arguments are set for today.
Montgomery County officials have tried to politicize our case, labeling parents like me as promoters of “hate” and even likening us to “white supremacists.” But that couldn’t be farther from the truth. We’re not asking to ban books or push our beliefs in schools. We simply want the right to excuse our kids when these books are read, a policy the board upheld for decades and one that fairness demands be restored.
Montgomery County should be working with parents, not against us. We are our children’s primary teachers, not obstacles. I hope the Supreme Court soon reminds Montgomery County—and the country—of this fundamental truth.
Billy Moges is a mother of three and director of Kids First, an association of parents and teachers advocating for notice and opt-outs in Montgomery County Schools.
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