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Photo: Kohji Asakawa, via Pixabay A federal appeals court ruled that Montgomery County Public Schools doesn’t have to offer an “opt-out” for religious parents who object to lessons incorporating books with LGBTQ characters. Three sets of parents — Muslim, Christian, and Jewish — sued the school district, claiming that books with LGBTQ characters “contradict their sincerely held religious beliefs about marriage, human sexuality, and gender.” They also argued that not providing an “opt-out” for their children violated their First Amendment right to free exercise of religion. Forcing their children to attend lessons incorporating the books would amount to “indoctrination” and “coerce their children to violate or change their religious beliefs.” A lower federal court ruled in August 2023 that the parents failed to meet the threshold required to prove that the lack of an opt-out policy violated their religious beliefs or would result in the evils alleged by the parents. The decision was subsequently appealed. On May 15, a three-judge panel of the 4th Circuit upheld the decision in a 2-1 ruling. “There’s no evidence at present that the [MCPS] board’s decision not to permit opt-outs compels the parents or their children to change their religious beliefs or conduct, […]