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Education Secretary Linda McMahon and the conservative group Moms for Liberty took to the Supreme Court steps Tuesday to recognize the 100-year anniversary of a landmark case that they said gave parents more control over their children’s education.
But advocates who spoke at the event are also anticipating decisions in two other pivotal cases that could affect the conservative-led parental rights movement.
Rosalind Hanson, who is part of a group of plaintiffs in Mahmoud v. Taylor, told Fox News Digital in an interview after the rally that she is optimistic about a forthcoming decision from the high court on the key religious liberty case. She said it came from Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland refusing to allow parents to opt their elementary school children out of being exposed to books containing gender and sexuality concepts.
“We are not trying to change the curriculum,” Hanson said. “We are not trying to say what you teach.… The majority of states across the country have said you can have an opt-out for these very sensitive issues and topics, especially because of the religious component, but also because of the age appropriateness.”
Montgomery County Public Schools attorneys argued to the Supreme Court that courts have long held that “mere exposure to controversial issues in a public-school curriculum does not burden the free religious exercise of parents or students.” Still, the attorneys stood by the school system’s decision to incorporate what they described as a “handful of storybooks featuring lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer characters” for use in language arts lessons.
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the case in April, and a decision is expected in the coming weeks.
Also on Moms for Liberty’s radar is United States v. Skrmetti, one of the most closely watched cases of the court’s term.
The case arose from the Biden administration suing over a bill Tennessee passed in 2023 to ban puberty blockers and hormone therapy as treatments for minors who identify as transgender. The Supreme Court is now poised to decide within the next few weeks if states can restrict such medical treatments for minors.
Scarlett Johnson, who has a leadership role in Moms for Liberty, called the case a “big one” and told Fox News Digital she also urges members of her group to advocate legislation that “will protect children from the puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries for minors regarding the issue of gender identity.”
McMahon, meanwhile, reflected on Pierce v. Society of Sisters, a landmark decision issued 100 years ago that struck down Oregon’s law requiring all children to attend public school. McMahon called it “one of the most impactful education-related cases in American history” but said the parental rights movement remains necessary.
“Special interest and progressive activists still try to agitate for the government to override moms and dads in education,” McMahon said. “Whether it’s through ideological indoctrination, sexually explicit curriculum, or hiding health and safety risks from parents, the progressive left always wants to come between you and your kids.”
The speakers’ remarks could be heard clearly over livestreams online, but in person in front of the Supreme Court building, they were drowned out entirely by a single protester screaming profanities and bashing a string of officials, including McMahon, Justice Clarence Thomas and President Donald Trump.
Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla., elicited laughs when she thanked the protester, who was holding a sign reading “Let’s TACO ‘bout tariffs,” a reference to an acronym Democrats’ adopted for “Trump Always Chickens Out.”
“I’d also like to thank our lone protester for highlighting the mental health crisis in our country. Bless your heart, as we would say in the South,” Cammack said.
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