Parental rights win at the Supreme Court

Government cannot condition the benefit of free public education on a requirement that threatens a family's religious beliefs, the Supreme Court said in a landmark decision on Friday.

Justices ruled 6-3 in Mahmoud v. Taylor that public school districts cannot prevent families from opting out of lessons or events they find sexually explicit and inappropriate.

In this case, Dr. Amina Mahmoud, a parent and educator, challenged a school district’s refusal to accommodate her request to exempt her child from a mandatory curriculum she believed violated her family's deeply held moral and religious beliefs. The district argued that standardized education mandates required uniformity in instruction, while Mahmoud maintained that her rights as a parent were being unconstitutionally overridden.

The court sided with parents. Justice Samuel Alito wrote:

"We hold that the parents who sought to have their children opt out of the storybooks are likely to succeed on their claim that the Board’s policies unconstitutionally burden their religious exercise. We have long recognized the rights of parents to direct the religious upbringing of their children. And we have held that those rights are violated by government policies that substantially interfere with the religious development of children."

Today's ruling comes during the same month that we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the landmark decision Pierce v. Society of Sisters. In that case, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that "the child is not the mere creature of the State."

The ruling was monumental because it affirmed parents' rights to direct their own child's education, protected private and religious schools, and led to the movement of education choice that is helping so many children today.

The decision in Mahmoud v. Taylor will impact families in states like Washington, where policymakers have sought to make it more difficult for parents to exercise their rights.

It is parents, rather than the government, who are best suited to decide their child's educational needs.