Mahmoud v. Taylor (Part II)

(Editor’s Note: To read “Schools Cannot Withhold Parental Opt-Outs According To Supreme Court Ruling“.)

CALIRED NEWS–Conservative leaders in California are predicting schools will be swamped with opt-out demands that “will likely cause turmoil, confusion, and years of litigation, largely because the (Supreme) Court offered no guidance on how opt-out requests should be handled, how religious belief claims can or should be verified, and how schools should handle potential logistical issues,” according to an Aug. 25 EdSource article by Thomas Peele.

LGBTQ+ advocates and defenders of the state’s “progressive” school standards are threatening discrimination lawsuits if opt-outs are granted and parents are threatening to sue if they aren’t granted immediately.

California requires students to learn the history of gay people fighting for civil rights and the story of the country’s first openly gay elected official, Harvey Milk. The San Francisco supervisor was assassinated in 1978 and posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by former President Barack Obama.

The ruling shows that “parents are the ultimate determination of whose values get taught to the child,” said Greg Bert of the California Family Council. “We’re now in charge of deciding what we think is good and what we think is not good.”

Educators are faced with the following questions:

• Should school personnel sort out the opt-out requests or should parents flag curriculum items to which they object?
• What do schools do with students whose parents opt them out of a class and where do they go?
• Who watches or instructs the youngest of removed students, who can’t be left unsupervised?
• Will school districts need to budget money to defend lawsuits from parents whose opt-out request may be denied?
• Can parents opt out their child from exposure to an LGBTQ+ teacher, or a teacher who displays a Pride flag in a classroom?

A Riverside County nonprofit law firm, Advocates for Faith & Freedom, created an opt-out letter, calling for children to be removed from any teaching involving “gender identity, the use of pronouns inconsistent with biological sex, so parents can raise children “in the fear and knowledge of the Lord.”

The letter gives school principals 10 calendar days to respond in writing. Lack of a response “will be considered a denial.”

The California Department of Education posted online in response to Mahmoud v. Taylor: “California law continues to promote a safe, fair, and welcoming learning environment in all schools. It is important to note that Mahmoud does not invalidate or preempt California’s strong protections for LGBTQ+ youth from discrimination, harassment, and bullying.”

“We’re advocating for good books in school…so we are not going to be sad if we see (these books) go,” said Burt of the California Family Council.

The presidents of California’s two largest teachers’ unions both said educators are not going to fold under pressure created by the high court’s decision.

(Editor’s Note: Read the 135-page Supreme Court decision and to read an opinion article by Richard Garnett: “Is Religious Freedom Possible In State Schools?“)

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CaliRed News is a column posted on Making California Red by the 2026 elections through reaching Gen Z (ages 13-28), Hispanics, and Christians with biblical traditional values and their pastors. CaiRed News reports on political, business, community, nonprofit, and church news.

Mike Hernandez is co-founder of the Citizens Journal–Ventura County’s online news service and writes for Citizens Journal and Mountain Top Media. He is a former Southern California daily newspaper journalist and religion and news editor, writer of “CaliRed News” and “Prayer Over News Daily” and edits the weekly “Stories Speak Volumes” and other columns. Mr. Hernandez mentors citizen journalists/podcasters and can be contacted here.

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