WASHINGTON (AP) – Prince Raso, a giant dragon, saved the Knight from some deaths in shiny armor. But the prince slipped and when he fell, the Knight and his pastoral race returned to favor.
Then the two men fell in love.
The story, “Prince and the Knight,” is one of five children's books that include LGBTQ characters and target kindergartens in fifth grade, which triggered a diversified chemical district in suburban Maryland and led to Supreme Court cases, which the Justice will hear on Tuesday.
For religious reasons, Montgomery County parents want to pull their kids from elementary school classes that use these books.
The county school system has been rejected, and so far, the lower court has agreed.
However, the results may differ in a high court led by conservative judges, who have repeatedly endorsed the claim of religious discrimination in recent years.
Parents believe that public schools cannot force children to participate in guidance that violates faith. They noted the opt-out rule in terms of sex education, noting that the district initially allowed parents to pull their children before telling stories.
“It’s tagged as a language art, you know, reading and writing plans, but the content of the material is very sexual,” said Billy Moges, a board member of the parent group’s children, forming in response to adding books to the course. “This is teaching human sexuality to confuse children, and parents are reluctant to let their children get into these things at such a young age.”
Dozens of parents testified at school board hearings to impress their young children with gender and gender curriculum.
Moggs said she ended up pulling three daughters from public schools, now 10, 8 and 6. They started out homeschooling and now attended a private Christian school, she said.
The school system declined to comment, citing on ongoing lawsuits.
But in court documents, the school’s lawyers wrote that a few story books were not sex education materials, but “telling everyday stories of characters who experienced adventures, faced new emotions and worked hard to make themselves hear.” The books involved the same topics found in classic stories, including Snow White, Cinderella and Peter Pan.
In “Uncle Bobby's Wedding,” a niece fears that her uncle doesn't have much time after marriage. His partner is a man. “Love, Violet” involves a girl's anxiety about handing over her lover to another girl. “Born Preparation” is a story of a trans boy who decides to share gender identity with his family and the world. “Cross Allies” describes nine characters from different backgrounds, including one of the gender fluids.
The school’s attorneys said the books were chosen “to better represent all families in Montgomery County” and teachers may not use them” to put pressure on students to change or change or reject religious views.”
Lawyers told the court that the school system has abandoned the option of letting parents take their children out of the course because doing so “has become unworkable.”
Americans, a group of writers with more than 10,000 books banned last school year, said in court that parents wanted “constitutionally suspicious books prohibit other names.”
Tasslyn Magnusson, senior consultant for Pen America's free reading program, said the difficulty of providing alternative courses to certain children when using books may force the county to withdraw books from the course.
“I really want people to read these books. They are just lovely examples of the kids’ experiences in school, and as part of their educational curriculum, their storybooks are really good,” Magnusson said.
One book that was originally part of the course and then pulled up for unexplained reasons is “My Rainbow,” written by Delaware Rep. Deshanna Neal and his daughter Trinity.
This story tells the story of the Trinity’s desire as a solution for long hair and mothers for trans girls and braids a rainbow wig.
Neal has become accustomed to the book being taken out of the circulation of libraries, including Florida, Ohio and Texas.
“School is a place to understand why the world is different and what makes it different,” Neil said. “What I hope comes out of this book is to listen to your children. They know their bodies.”
