Book banned in Florida focus of SCOTUS case

A prince lassos a dragon, saving a knight in shining armor from certain death. But the prince slips and as he falls, the knight and his steed race to return the favor.

Then the two men fall in love.

That story, “Prince and Knight,” is one of five children’s books featuring LGBTQ characters and aimed at kindergarten through the fifth grade that have roiled a diverse suburban Maryland school district and led to a Supreme Court case that the justices will hear on Tuesday.

Parents in Montgomery County who object for religious reasons want to pull their children from elementary school classes that use the books.

The county school system has refused and lower courts have so far agreed.

But the outcome could be different at a high court dominated by conservative justices who have repeatedly endorsed claims of religious discrimination in recent years.

The parents argue that public schools cannot force kids to participate in instruction that violates their faith. They point to opt-out provisions in sex education and note that the district originally allowed parents to pull their children when the storybooks were being taught before abruptly reversing course.

One book that was originally part of the curriculum and then pulled for unexplained reasons is “My Rainbow,” co-written by Delaware state Rep. DeShanna Neal and daughter Trinity.

The story tells of Trinity’s desire for long hair as a transgender girl and her mother’s solution, knitting a rainbow wig.

Neal has grown used to having the book taken out of circulation at libraries, including in Florida, Ohio and Texas.

“School is a place to learn about why the world is different and how it’s different,” Neal said. “What I had hoped would come out of this book was, listen to your children. They know their own bodies.”

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Republished with permission of the Associated Press.