Parents allowed to stop children learning about LGBTQ+ people, judge rules

A judge has allowed parents to opt their children out of reading LGBTQ-themed books in class after a “devout Christian” father sued his son’s school.

Boston federal judge F Dennis Saylor IV ordered a school district in Massachusetts to make “reasonable efforts” to ensure parents can prevent their children from learning about LGBTQ+ people.

Lexington father and “devout Christian”, Alan L, sued Joseph Estabrook Elementary School in October 2025 after learning its education materials included books which he said contradict his anti-LGBTQ+ views on marriage.

He demanded the school allow him to opt his son out of reading materials that he claimed “contradicts his family’s faith by normalising and celebrating LGBTQ+ relationships and identities”.

In a ruling handed down earlier this week, judge Saylor IV granted a preliminary injunction allowing Alan L to prevent his son from reading or learning from materials with LGBTQ+ themes.

Educational materials, the judge wrote, could include “books that many parents might find appropriate or innocuous (such as those simply depicting gay and lesbian couples with children)”.

“The question presented here is not whether the viewpoints of plaintiff, or those of the school officials, are ‘correct’ as a matter of religious faith or political or social belief,” the judge continued. “Instead, this case presents a narrow question: whether these specific defendants have provided the required notice and opportunity to review materials that this specific plaintiff may find objectionable.”

Judge Saylor IV argued that Alan L had proved he is “likely to suffer irreparable harm” without the option to ban his son from learning about LGBTQ+ people.

Attorneys representing the school district signalled their intention to appeal the decision, arguing that the “mere existence” of LGBTQ+ life is not enough to warrant an opt-out scheme.

It noted that several of the books cited in the case are “not associated with any LGBTQ+-focused curriculum”, nor was Alan L’s son “exposed” to the books.

“When parents request their student to be opted out of broad swaths of the public school curriculum – as was the case here – it puts the burden on the schools to presume what materials might be objectionable,” they added. “This is not like a student with a peanut allergy, where the implementation of an accommodation to protect the student is reasonably clear.”

Censorship of LGBTQ+ materials in schools has increased dramatically across US states in the last few years. At least 52 bills censoring LGBTQ+ materials or curriculum in schools were proposed in 2025 alone.