In a 6-3 decision released Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that parents can opt their children out of a Maryland school district’s curriculum materials featuring LGBTQ+ themes if the material goes against their religious beliefs. The decision is being called a major win for parental rights and religious freedom.

“Parents have the right to know what their children are learning at school and to exercise their First Amendment freedom of religion to opt out of divisive and ideological lessons that go against their families’ values and beliefs,” said Education Department Secretary Linda McMahon, celebrating the ruling.

The case, Mahmoud v. Taylor, started when a diverse group of Christian and Muslim parents sued the Montgomery County Public Schools. They were concerned after the district included books in the curriculum that promoted gender transitions, Pride parades, and same-sex relationships, starting with young children.

Originally, parents were allowed to opt their children out of these lessons, but the school district later stopped honoring that policy. Parents argued that this created “indirect pressure to forgo a religious practice,” violating their religious freedom.

Justice Samuel Alito, writing for the court’s majority, agreed that forcing parents to expose their children to lessons that conflict with their faith is a burden on their religious freedom. “A government burdens the religious exercise of parents when it requires them to submit their children to instruction that poses ‘a very real threat of undermining’ the religious beliefs and practices that the parents wish to instill,” Alito wrote.

He added, “The practice of educating one’s children in one’s religious beliefs, like all religious acts and practices, receives a generous measure of protection from our Constitution.”

The decision grants parents a preliminary injunction, meaning the Montgomery County school district cannot require students to participate in lessons using LGBT-themed books while the legal case continues.

However, not everyone agreed with the ruling. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who wrote the dissenting opinion, warned that allowing parents to opt out of these lessons could create “chaos” in public schools and harm children. “Requiring schools to provide advance notice and the chance to opt out of every lesson plan or story time that might implicate a parent’s religious beliefs will impose impossible administrative burdens on schools,” Sotomayor wrote.

Rosalind Hanson, a member of Moms for Liberty who supported the parents, said they were not trying to change the curriculum for other families but simply wanted to protect their own children’s religious upbringing. “The majority of states across the country have said you can have an opt-out for these very sensitive issues and topics, especially because of the religious component, but also because of the age appropriateness,” Hanson explained.

The ruling highlights the growing debate in America over parental rights, religious freedom, and education. For Christian and Muslim parents in Maryland and beyond, this decision is seen as a step toward ensuring their voices are heard in shaping what their children learn in the classroom, while allowing them to stand firm in their faith.