The latest decision is a major legal win for religious interests at the conservative high court, and blurs the line that once clearly separated secular education from religious beliefs.

The Supreme Court has sided with religious parents who want to pull their children out of the classroom when a public school lesson uses LGBTQ storybooks.

In 2022, after introducing several LGBTQ-themed books into its language arts curriculum, the Montgomery County school board allowed parents to opt out if the content was deemed objectionable as a matter of faith. One year later, officials reversed course and said the opt-out program had become unwieldy and ran counter to values of inclusion.