NORTHVILLE, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – A Michigan education nonprofit group has posted on its website a form parents can submit to school districts to get a detailed description of materials provided to their children by school districts.
The opt-out option.
Get Kids Back to School Inc. provides the form in wake of a U.S. Supreme Court 6-3 decision in Mahmoud v. Taylor that gave parents the right to opt out of instruction that violates a family’s religious beliefs.
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“The United States Supreme Court confirmed … what parents knew all along: parents are and should be in control of their children’s education,” said Get Kids Back to School Inc., an educational nonprofit. “In a groundbreaking case titled Mahmoud v. Taylor, the Court confirmed that parents have the right to opt their children out of objectionable material. The case has wide-reaching implications across the State of Michigan, as numerous districts and programs have denied parents this right for years.”
The SCOTUS decision.
The Supreme Court decision involved a Maryland school district that refused to allowed parents to opt their children out of a program involving LGBTQ textbooks. The Montgomery County Board of Education originally agreed to allow parents to opt out but rescinded their decision after it said too many parents wanted out and it was a disruption.
The form provided by Get Kids Back to School Inc. is a letter that can be sent to the school district’s Freedom of Information Act coordinator. The form asks for a list of all printed materials (books, handouts, etc.), including name, author and publisher (if available) that will be taught in the coming year; and a list of all digital lessons and digital teaching materials, including software and applications, to be used in the classroom, including, when available.
The letter asks the district to waive any fees associated with the FOIA because “this request is pursuant to and necessary to effectuate a well-established constitutional right.”