WASHINGTON (AP) – A prince Lassos a dragon, which saves a knight in a shiny armor of a certain death. But the prince glides and while he falls, the knight and his race race to give the favor.
Then the two men fall in love.
That story, 'Prince and Knight', is one of the five children's books with LGBTQ characters and aimed at the kindergarten by the fifth grade that a diverse school district in the suburbs Maryland greeted and led to a case of the Supreme Court that the judges will hear on Tuesday.
Parents in Montgomery County who object for religious reasons want to draw their children from primary school classes that use the books.
The district school system has refused and lower courts have agreed so far.
But the result can be different with a high court that is dominated by conservative judges who have repeatedly approved claims of religious discrimination in recent years.
The parents claim that public schools cannot force children to participate in instruction that violates their faith. They point to opt-out provisions in sex education and note that the district originally allowed parents to attract their children when the story books were taught before the course was abruptly reversed.
“It is labeled as a language art, you know, reading and writing program, but the content of the material is very sexual,” said Billy Moges, a board member of the Parents Group Kids First who formed in response to the addition of the books to the curriculum. “It is teaching human sexuality and confuses children, and parents do not feel comfortable to have their children exposed to these things at such a young age.”
Dozens of parents testified on hearings from the school board about their religious obligations to keep their influenceable young children of lessons about gender and sexuality that are contrary to their beliefs.
MAGS said she took her three daughters, now 10, 8 and 6, from their public schools. They were initially home schooled and now went to a private Christian school, she said.
The school system refused to comment and quoted the current lawsuit.
But in the court, lawyers wrote for the schools that the handful of story books are not sexual materials, but “prefer to tell everyday stories about characters experiencing adventure, confronting new emotions and having trouble making themselves heard.” The books touch on the same themes that are found in classic stories such as Snow White, Cinderella and Peter Pan, the lawyers wrote.
In 'Uncle Bobby's wedding', a niece is worried that her uncle will not have that much time for her after he is married. His partner is a man. “Love, Violet” is about the fear of a girl to give a Valentine to another girl. “Born Ready” is the story of the decision of a transgender boy to share his gender identity with his family and the world. “Intersection allies” describes nine characters with different backgrounds, including someone who is gender fluid.
The books were chosen “to better represent all families of Montgomery County” and they are not allowed to use teachers “to put students under pressure to change or to change or pay religious views,” said the schools of the schools.
The school system left the option to have parents removed their children from the lessons, because this became 'unworkably disturbing', the lawyers told the court.
The Schrijversgroep Pen America, which reported more than 10,000 books in the last school year, said in a court who submits what the parents want “a constitutionally suspected book ban with a different name”.
The difficulty of giving alternative lessons for some children when the books are used would probably force the county to remove the books from the curriculum, said Taslyn Magnusson, senior consultant with the Freedom to Read program in Pen America.
“I really hope that people read these books. They are just nice examples of experiences that children have at school and they are perfectly great story books to have as part of an educational curriculum,” said Magnusson.
A book that was originally part of the curriculum and was subsequently drawn for inexplicable reasons is 'My Rainbow', partly written by Delaware State Rep. Deshanna Neal and daughter Trinity.
The story tells about the desire from Trinity for long hair as a transgender girl and the solution of her mother, who knit a rainbow wig.
Neal has become accustomed to have the book removed from the blood circulation in libraries, including in Florida, Ohio and Texas.
“School is a place to learn why the world is different and how it is different,” Neal said. “What I had hoped would come from this book, listen to your children. They know their own bodies.”
