We will hear argument first this morning in case 24-297, Mahmood v. Taylor. Mr. Baxter.

Mr. Chief Justice, and may it please the Court, parents everywhere care about how their young

children are taught sexuality and gender identity. That's why nearly every public school in the

country that provides sexuality education requires parental consent first.

But Montgomery County is an extreme outlier, insisting that every elementary school student must be instructed that, among other controversial matters, doctors guessed at their sex when they were born, and that anyone who disagrees is hurtful and unfair.

Forcing petitioners to submit their children to such instruction violates their religious

beliefs and directly interferes with their ability to direct the religious upbringing of their

children. The board claims this straightforward burden analysis will invite chaos, but

schools nationwide have long applied

expansive opt-out policies without significant difficulty, including the board itself, which

still allows opt-outs for choir students who object to singing religious songs, or students

who object to certain storybooks, such as one that portrays an image of the prophet Muhammad.

Exempting students for some religious

reasons, but not others, cannot be squared with the First Amendment. Nowhere else to go, the board

pleads for remand on strict scrutiny, but petitioners have been seeking preliminary relief

for two years already at significant personal expense. One family moved in with grandparents to afford

private school. Another is homeschooling at the loss of $25,000 a year in special services. The school

provided their daughter with Down syndrome. Most have no alternatives. Petitioners deserve complete

preliminary relief in a system where thousands of students are daily opted in and out of the class for multiple reasons.

There's no basis for denying opt-outs for religious reasons.

The board does not dispute that under its theory, it could compel instruction using pornography, and parents would have no rights.

The First Amendment demands more.

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