opinion
St. Louis Park Public Schools in Minnesota is allowing parents to opt their children out of LGBT-related curriculum after six Muslim families asked that their children be exempted because of their religious beliefs.
Two public interest law firms sent letters to the school district saying the previous denial of opt-out requests violated the First Amendment and state law, Alpha News reported.
One mother involved said: “We believe we have a sacred obligation to teach the principles of our faith to our children without them being undermined by schools.”
Another Somali mother said that one school provided books discussing gender identity and two-parent families to third-graders.
“These books were provided to our children without our knowledge or consent, leaving us no option to opt out of them despite our sincere religious objection,” she said.
Their complaints may have opened the door to other religious exemption arguments.
RELATED: National School Boards Association could lose millions in dues after rhetoric comparing parents to terrorists
Moms spoke on the school board about books involved in the LGBT curriculum
Initial reports indicated that only Muslim families would have the option to opt out, but the process has been opened to any family wishing to opt out of LGBT curriculum.
Several Somali mothers spoke at a St. Louis Park school board meeting in October, alleging that books that conflicted with their religious beliefs were being given to children without their knowledge. They demanded that their children be exempted from LGBT curricula.
Gay rights advocates have argued that they should not be able to opt out.
LGBT advocates at a press conference on the Minnesota LGBT Caucus' legislative priorities indicate their opposition to allowing Muslim families in the St. Louis Park area to opt out of LGBT-related content. pic.twitter.com/5zPbnwmX0N
– Alpha News (AlphaNewsMN) February 15, 2024
State law in Minnesota requires schools to have procedures in place for parents to review instructional materials, and if a parent objects, the district must make “reasonable” arrangements for alternative instruction.
Since that board meeting, the six families have reportedly successfully opted out of the LGBT curriculum.
RELATED: Emails reveal NSBA coordinated with White House before AG mobilized FBI to 'identify and prosecute' parents who were compared to 'domestic terrorists'
The White House likens parents concerned about their children's curricula to terrorists
Parents' move to impose an exemption from LGBT curriculum in Minnesota schools comes just two years after Joe Biden's administration attempted to define parents at school board meetings as domestic terrorists.
The National School Boards Association (NSBA) coordinated with the White House and Department of Justice (DOJ) on a controversial letter sent to President Biden drawing a comparison between domestic terrorists.
House Republicans later released documents provided by a whistleblower that showed the FBI investigated parents who criticized local school boards using “counterterrorism tools.”
The documents allegedly show that the FBI created a tag for threats against teachers and school administrators.
The “threat label” was drafted as part of the bureau’s implementation of a controversial memo published by Attorney General Merrick Garland that mobilized the FBI based on a request for assistance in the NSBA letter.
Will these Muslim families be treated in the same way?
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