American families have been on the edges of their seats, either in excitement or dread, as they have watched the federal education change over the past 100 days of the Trump Administration. Jobs have been cut, AI initiatives have been introduced, and overall, no one is certain what the future of the Department of Education will look like. However, one of the biggest decisions regarding education in America actually landed with a different branch of government than the executive.

            This Tuesday, the Supreme Court listened to arguments from a case in Montgomery County, Maryland, which is the most religiously diverse county in the United States. In 2022, the county school board voted to use a new curriculum that included books with LGBTQ characters. As expected, some families asked to opt their children out of exposure to the books that comment on sexuality and gender. The following year, the school board stopped allowing opt-outs because of the difficulty to accommodate the opted-out students academically and “undermined their obligation to foster inclusive environments,” according to a PBS article on the subject. Parents subsequently sued the school board.

            In this case, we see something that has been a source of incredible friction between American families recently. As society aims to become more inclusive, some citizens are asking, “How inclusive is too inclusive?” As harsh as this sounds, the texts of the three main religions (Christianity’s Bible, Judaism’s Torah, and Islam’s Quran) would not support LGBTQ behavior. While many parents try to raise their children within a faith, their children are learning about behaviors that parents would rather introduce in their own timeframe. Within the case is the Morrison family, whose 10 year old daughter has Down Syndrome and is in a language arts class where LGBTQ books are taught. Her mother argues that LGBTQ topics are too heavy for her daughter at this age, and her mother does not want to be forced to begin these discussions with her daughter now.

            Since this affects public school curriculum decisions, how could this affect education in America as a whole? Ultimately, this case will rule on the side of parents or school boards having the most control over educating American children…but it’s tough to keep such a diverse body of citizens happy with education delivered by a single organization. Simply put, you cannot be all things to all people. As a private Christian school, we’re proud to be transparent about our motives for educating students – students should be challenged academically but not forced to delve into sensitive topics that parents would like to discuss with their children, especially not at a young age. More importantly, we’re able to appeal to the ultimate truth that’s explained in the Bible, which leads to important, practical, real-world discussions. For example, if we’re called to “love our neighbors as ourselves,” as Jesus calls us to do, how do we approach people who hurt us or others? The Bible is our most useful tool to explore questions like this.

If a family wants this Biblical education for their children, should the law both require children to go to school while funding that obligation through taxation and limit what schools can receive that tax money? If the Supreme Court rules on the side of parents but doesn’t change the method to fund schools outside of public and charter schools, then lawsuits of this nature may persist until families are finally told, “You are free to direct your school tax bill to the school of your choice.” Then, when arguments are introduced to a school board, families can be told to exercise their freedom of choice.