Neal McCluskey
On April 22, the US Supreme Court will hear arguments in Mahmoud v. Taylor. The case pits parents in Montgomery County, MD, who wanted to opt their children out of class readings at odds with their religious convictions, against a district that mandated the children participate to foster tolerance of diverse lifestyles.
As I explain in this new Reason piece, an opt-out is the bare minimum deference to families. I and Mustafa Akyol delved more deeply into this case in other writing and an event in 2023.
As I also tackle in the Reason piece, next Wednesday the Court will hear the case of the St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, which deals with whether charter schools—technically public schools but chosen by parents—can be religious. As I discuss at Reason and have tackled previously, the religious equality case for St. Isidore is compelling, but there is too much government entanglement to ultimately support religious chartering. That is especially the case when there is a better solution right in front of us:
Money following students to whatever educational options, including private, families choose.
Simple school choice.