(WASHINGTON, D.C., 4/17/23) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Montgomery Muslim Council and ICNA Council for Social Justice today announced that over 1,100 Maryland parents, guardians and community members have now signed and sent a petition calling on Montgomery County Public Schools to restore a promised curriculum opt-out option and advanced parental notice for newly introduced Pre-K through 12th grade reading material of concern to the petitioning families.
The public petition, which can be found here also expresses concern about the sudden, unilateral decision to end the opt-out and advanced parental notice, and calls on MCPS Superintendent Dr. Monifa McKnight and the MCPS Board of Education to engage with concerned families and community leaders.
BACKGROUND
Last November, Fox News Digital reported that “MCPS insisted the readings are not mandatory and that they will not be scheduled for use until families are notified.” At that time, MCPS said: “These books are not mandatory.”
After introducing books and classroom discussion guidance that some parents found age-inappropropriate or otherwise objectionable, MCPS did initially allow schools to give parents advance notice about the books and permitted children to opt out of reading or discussing the content. Numerous families, including Muslim parents and children, had taken advantage of the opt-out option.
However, on March 23, 2023, MCPS sent a community-wide notice to parents that the district would no longer accept opt-out requests and that schools would no longer give advance notice.
MCPS directly confirmed its new ban on opt-outs in a March 29th email to CAIR. The school did not respond to CAIR’s request to explain what disciplinary action students might face for not participating or why the school had suddenly decided to ban parental notice and reasonable religious accommodations.
For the past several weeks, families and guardians of children in MCPS have reported being denied the right to opt-out of Pre-K through 12 grade material covering subject matters of concern to them. Many have expressed to CAIR that they wish to have more engagement about the sensitive issues raised in the curriculum. In part, the school system is responding to opt-out requests with:
“Students and families may not choose to opt out of engaging with any instructional materials, other than “Family Life and Human Sexuality Unit of Instruction,” which is specifically permitted by Maryland law. As such, teachers will not send home letters to inform families when inclusive books are read in the future.”
Maryland Muslim community leaders are calling on MCPS to engage more with community members about their concerns and restore reasonable accommodations that worked for everyone.
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La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT: CAIR Office in Maryland Director Zainab Chaudry, 410-971-6062, [email protected]; CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, [email protected]; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, [email protected]