Curriculum opt-outs and the classrooms: What the Supreme Court’s ruling means for inclusive education

BY DAVID J. HILL

UB’s LaGarrett King examines how this ruling affects students, educators, and may undermine a school’s mission around inclusivity and belonging.

BUFFALO, N.Y. – A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision has reignited national debates over what students should learn and what families can opt out of. In the case of Mahmoud v. Taylor, the Supreme Court ruled 6–3 that public schools must allow parents to excuse their children from lessons that conflict with their religious beliefs. While the case centered on LGBTQ+ inclusive books, the ruling may have far reaching implications for how public schools approach content related to race, identity and social justice.

LaGarrett King, professor of social studies education and director of the Center for K–12 Black History and Racial Literacy Education at the University at Buffalo Graduate School of Education, offers his perspective on the challenges schools may face and what’s at stake for students and educators alike.

NAVIGATING PARENTAL RIGHTS AND STUDENT BELONGING

King says that balancing opt out requests with inclusive values may strain school systems both logistically and philosophically. Schools face the challenge of a backlog of opt out requests, which increases the workload for administrators. In addition, a large number of student absences may occur on these instructional days. Even if alternative assignments are provided, this creates logistical complications. Optout requests may also undermine a school’s mission around inclusivity and belonging.

“If parents are allowed to opt out of content for religious reasons, what other concessions will schools be expected to make? Does this mean that books featuring LGBTQ+ characters must be removed from school libraries? In this court case, some of the parents were Muslim, so could Christian parents now request to opt out of any lesson that mentions Islam?”

HOW THE RULING COULD SHAPE LESSONS ON RACE AND JUSTICE

“This ruling opens the door for more opt outs from curriculum and lessons that are deemed polarizing,” King said. Black history education, along with content related to race, equity and social justice, has already been subject to opt out requests in some places.

There have been reports of white parents removing their children from Black History Month programming, and in many high schools, courses dealing with race and equity are already offered only as electives or specialty classes. “I expect we’ll see more of this happening in the near future, especially in districts looking to avoid controversy.”

WHY INCLUSIVE CONTENT MATTERS FOR STUDENT WELL-BEING

“The most pressing concern is the idea that LGBTQ+ youth are not valued members of their communities. If parents can opt out of LGBTQ+-related education—and if that’s the only type of curriculum families are allowed to opt out of— what message does that send to those students and their families?” Of course, avoiding inclusive content also creates stigma for students who hold those identities, according to King.

“Research has shown that bullying can occur when ignorance about different communities goes unchallenged. With a public-facing policy like this, I worry that students who are not exposed to diverse perspectives could, in turn, be more likely to bully others.”

HOW SCHOOLS SHAPE UNDERSTANDING OF DIVERSE IDENTITIES

K–12 education has long been tied to developing the skills, knowledge and dispositions that allow students to become responsible citizens. “Part of being a decent and well-informed citizen is having understanding and empathy for people from different cultural and identity groups.

There’s truth to the idea that discrimination often stems from a lack of contact, knowledge and experience with those who are ‘othered’ or different. Education helps bridge that gap,” King says. “Even if students encounter ideas that conflict with their personal or family belief systems, that doesn’t mean they don’t have the right to learn about them, especially when they contribute to the greater good.”

THE TAKEAWAY MESSAGE

King said that learning about other cultural and identity groups doesn’t mean a student must accept those beliefs or change their own. But it does support the development of a more educated citizenry with a greater capacity for empathy.