Two Mormon parents are suing a California school district after the district refused to allow their students to opt out of a gender and sexuality curriculum that included pro-LGBTQ+ material. Justin and Rose Taylor, who are Mormon, are suing Sunnyvale School District in the Bay Area, stating the district’s refusal to let their two elementary-aged children opt out from the curriculum violates a Supreme Court decision last year that affirmed students could opt out of such materials for religious reasons. The decision upheld that a group of parents from various religious backgrounds, including Muslims and Catholics, could opt out of similar materials in Maryland public schools.

The school originally complied with the Taylors’ request to opt out in 2025 after the Supreme Court decision, sharing opt out forms with the parents and keeping librarians from checking out LGBTQ+ materials to their students. However, after a few months of dialogue, the school rejected their request, stating the curriculum as “not optional.” The district claimed that the Supreme Court’s decision did not set a “general or automatic right for parents to opt their children out of required curriculum.” In their complaint, the Taylors list a number of materials, including the integration of LGBTQ+ materials in basic math problems. Some of the reading materials included for students as young as 3 and 4 years old include a picture book entitled Pride Puppy, where children are encouraged to find objects in pictures such as drag kings and queens, underwear, and an image of Marsha P. Johnson, a celebrated LGBTQ+ activist who was also a sex worker. Another picture book is entitled The Hips on the Drag Queen go Swish, Swish, Swish, set to the tune of the popular preschool song “The Wheels on the Bus.”

The Taylors filed their lawsuit June 22^nd, represented by the Becket Fund. “Sunnyvale has thumbed its nose at the Supreme Court in brazen defiance of its Mahmoud decision,” wrote Becket in statement. “In Mahmoud, the Court held that Maryland’s Montgomery County Public Schools violated religious freedom by denying parents notice and opt-outs from storybooks and instruction that conflicted with their faith. That is exactly what happened here—and Sunnyvale even promotes many of the same storybooks for its mandatory LGBTQ+ instruction.” Becket insisted that the school’s refusal to comply with the Supreme Court “was no accident” and that teachers were told by Sunnyvale to “resist pressures” against the curriculum. “Our children are the most cherished part of our lives. We know and love them best and should be the ones deciding when and how they learn about sensitive topics regarding sexuality and gender,” insisted the Taylors. “Fortunately, the Supreme Court has recognized that right for religious parents nationwide. We hope that Sunnyvale can choose to acknowledge and respect our role as parents to direct the moral upbringing of our children.”