Court: Supreme Court of the United States, No. 24-297
Case Status: Ongoing, Merits argument scheduled for April 22, 2025
Center Involvement: Brief on behalf of Amicus Curiae Professors S. Ernie Walton and Eric A. DeGroff
Date of Filing: March 10, 2025

The Robertson Center originally filed an amicus brief in support of the Plaintiffs’ Petition for Certiorari.  On January 17, 2025, The Supreme Court granted certiorari, agreeing to hear the case.  Petitioners, a religiously-diverse group of parents including Muslims, Eastern Orthodox, and Catholics, challenged the policy of the Montgomery County, Maryland, Board of Education to include storybooks in their elementary-school reading curriculum that promote pro-gay and pro-transgender values, without providing the parents any notice or the opportunity to opt-out of using those particular storybooks to teach their children to read. The parents are arguing that the policy violates their rights, under the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment, to direct the upbringing of their children specifically regarding values surrounding sexuality.

The Center filed an additional amicus brief at the merits stage, building on the original brief of Professors Walton and DeGroff and adding analysis that focuses on the history of conflicts that arose from attempts to enforce religious conformity in schools, and the success of parental opt-outs as a mechanism for avoiding those conflicts in public schools that serve religiously diverse populations.

Court Filings:

• 24-297 Amicus Brief of Professors S. Ernie Walton and Eric A. DeGroff (Original)
• 24-297 Amicus Brief of Professors S. Ernie Walton and Eric A. DeGroff (Additional)