In late January 2025, the Supreme Court decided to hear a case called Mahmoud v. Taylor.
The case wasn’t on my radar at all, but about a week later, Tasslyn Magnusson, a senior advisor for PEN America’s Freedom to Read project, reached out to let me know that my book, “What Are Your Words? A Book About Pronouns,” illustrated by the brilliant Anne (Andy) Passchier, was one of the books included in the case.
A very small number of parents in Montgomery County, Maryland, were suing their public school district after the school district removed the ability to opt children out of classroom reading activities. The parents said that move infringed upon their freedom of religion and their right to teach their children their religious beliefs because LGBTQ+ picture books were part of the curriculum.
I knew this court. I knew that the conservative majority on the court would be salivating for a case like this, so even before our first briefing, I knew that this wasn’t likely to go our way. (Spoiler alert: It didn’t.)
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I told myself in early February that I was going to conserve my energy. I was going to fight the battles I thought we could win. There are book banning cases and book challenges all across my state, where I am one of two chapter leaders for Authors Against Book Bans, and I wanted to focus on that. Fights we could win.
But for the last six months, the SCOTUS case became a very large part of my life: a singular experience that I shared with the authors and illustrators of eight other picture books, only some of whom I knew before this began. Bonding with these other authors and illustrators made dealing with the publicity around the case, the hate mail, the social media comments and, ultimately, the decision, easier.
And before we even knew this decision, I knew that my initial approach — that this is a fight we’d lose and we shouldn’t waste energy on — was the wrong one. We had to fight. We have to fight.
What The Mahmoud v. Taylor Outcome Means For Kids
On Friday, the Supreme Court announced their decision. As predicted, they not only sided with the parents, but the majority opinion left the door wide open for opt-outs to be used in other destructive ways against public education.
Here’s what that means: Religious parents can, for any reason at all, opt their child out of any book being read in the classroom that expresses a viewpoint that the parent believes undermines the religious teachings they’re trying to impart onto their child.
The logistical nightmare that this will create for schools, teachers and classrooms is hard to overstate. Every book in the curriculum could need an opt-out form. Teachers will have to keep track of which books each child is allowed to read by their parents. The students who cannot be in the classroom while the book is being read or taught will need somewhere safe to go, without losing instructional time.
The end result, we fear, is that schools will simply stop assigning or including books that are even potentially controversial. The books in classroom shelves, which have gotten progressively more diverse and inclusive, will go back to being books that reflect a majority experience: white, cis, straight and Christian, either by default or explicitly.
But that’s not all this decision could do.
As Justice Sotomayor said in her dissent: “Nor is the Court’s reasoning seemingly limited to reading material. Interactions with teachers and students could presumably involve implicit ‘normative’ messages that parents may find ‘contrary to the religious principles’ they wish to impart to their children and therefore ‘hostile’ to their religious beliefs. A female teacher displaying a wedding photo with her wife; a student’s presentation on her family tree featuring LGBTQ parents or siblings; or an art display with the phrase ‘Love Is Love’ all could ’positively reinforc[e]” messages that parents disapprove on religious grounds. Would that be sufficient to trigger strict scrutiny if a school fails to provide advance notice and the opportunity to opt out of any such exposure? The majority offers no principled basis easily to distinguish those cases from this one.”
It’s hard not to feel a chill down your back when you imagine all of the possibilities that could come out of this case. In the oral arguments, Justice Sotomayor brought up that parents have challenged books in which women accomplish things outside of the home. Imagine not being able to read about female astronauts or scientists because another parent in the classroom’s religious beliefs say that women shouldn’t have jobs outside of the home.
That’s the slippery slope we’re facing ― and it’s starting with segregating LGBTQ+ books, and discriminating against LGBTQ+ people in the classroom, in the community and on the pages of picture books.
We authors and illustrators wrote in our joint statement, released through PEN America that “[We] believe the Supreme Court’s ruling today threatens students’ access to diverse books and undermines teachers’ efforts to create safe, inclusive classrooms. To treat children’s books about LGBTQ+ characters differently than similar books about non-LGBTQ+ characters is discriminatory and harmful. This decision will inevitably lead to an increasingly hostile climate for LGBTQ+ students and families, and create a less welcoming environment for all students.”
We believe that all students have a right to an inclusive education. We know inclusive educational material increases empathy and improves educational outcomes. Beyond that, I know that I want to live in a world and in a society where people are more empathetic, more educated and more open to the idea of other experiences.
But this decision does not do that. Nor does it even pretend that this was a difficult decision, threading the needle between the freedom of expression and freedom of religion, trying to find common ground on which to build that more empathetic and more just society.
Instead, it’s a decision that leans into fear, division and uncertainties.
The Fear Of Queer Joy
What struck me the most from the opinion, written by Justice Alito, was not the justices’ decision to side for the parents — I had expected that part — but their fear of queer joy. As Alito wrote, “If this same-sex marriage makes everyone happy and leads to joyous celebration by all, doesn’t that mean it is in every respect a good thing?”
I am trying to imagine another time where the Supreme Court said that joy indicated that something was morally wrong and must be limited. I’m trying to imagine saying that depictions of happiness are something from which children need to be protected.
One wonders if a picture book depicting everyone sad and despondent at a same-sex marriage would have passed Alito’s muster and he would have allowed, or encouraged, the books to be included in the curriculum.
But that queer joy that permeates these books, that the majority of justices on the Supreme Court fear could be ‘coercive’ or ‘normative’ is also what’s getting us authors and illustrators through this moment — and what keeps us galvanized in the fight ahead of us.
Because we still have a fight ahead of us.
The day after the ruling, Robin Stevenson, author, and Julie McLaughlin, illustrator, of “Pride Puppy!” ― the book most often in the news with this case ― did a read-aloud at a farmer’s market. A young trans girl came up to them, eager to share that because of “Pride Puppy!,” she’s working on her own LGBTQ+ alphabet book. Nonbinary adults were thrilled to see that they too exist in the book, because mirrors matter for all ages. That is why Robin wrote the book.
Our group chat exploded with happiness, because regardless of a court decision, we’re going to keep making these books for these moments. They matter. These books reach kids and make them feel seen. And these books teach other kids how to see their classmates. These books are joyous, yes, and joy is powerful. That’s why close-minded people fear it so much. Joy is nectar. Joy is life. And joy will keep the light burning, even in these dark times.
But this fight is going to take everyone.
How You Can Help Protect Inclusive Education
Show up to your local school board meetings.
Listen. Get to know your school board members. Ask them about how they’re supporting all students, especially marginalized students, in your district. Tell them you support inclusive literature and inclusive curricula in schools. You don’t need kids in the district to do this ― you’re a taxpayer. Show up and make sure your taxpayer dollars are supporting policies that you want.
Remember: They often only hear from people complaining. If your local school is doing something right with regards to inclusive education, tell them you appreciate it. That helps your school board members know what to fight for.
Create and support inclusive spaces.
Work with teachers and librarians either at the school or at a local library to create inclusive book clubs, after-school activities and weekend programming for students in the area. This is a great way around restrictive school policies.
Does it reach all students? No, but it helps to demonstrate community support for inclusive policies.
Prioritize inclusivity in your book-buying with both ‘windows’ and ‘mirrors.’
Include diverse and inclusive books in your homes, in your gift-giving and in your donations to little free libraries. I think we’ve all gotten better about seeking out “mirrors” in books for kids — meaning, we’ll give a book where the main character shares a racial, ethnic, religious background, or gender or sexual orientation, or disability with the reader for whom it’s intended. But we’re not as good at diversifying the shelves of non-marginalized readers in the same way. Mirrors are important, but so are “windows” into other experiences. Normalizing other skin colors, disabilities, religions, genders, sexual orientation and more, for children, helps build empathy and tolerance from a young age.
Get involved locally.
If you’re an author, I encourage you to join Authors Against Book Bans. If you’re not an author, I encourage you to find a local Freedom to Read Chapter and join it. Book bans are happening everywhere — and this Supreme Court decision just made it much easier to covertly ban books under the guise of religious freedom. We’ll need all hands on deck to protect books and preserve the freedom to read all across this country.
Support people already doing this work.
Check out PEN America’s Freedom to Read Project, United Against Book Bans, and We Need Diverse Books, three groups doing vital work in a trying time.
And beyond thinking about inclusive education, it’s important to know that queer kids are in danger right now. Access to gender-affirming care has been threatened or revoked in numerous states. Federal funding for an LGBTQ+ specific suicide-prevention hotline ended. Queer kids are reporting high levels of anxiety, depression and fears of the future. We’re all able to play a part in making this world safer for queer kids. Books play an important role, but they are not enough.
Author’s note: I was paid for this essay, and I’m donating it entirely to the Trans Youth Emergency Project, a program run by the Campaign for Southern Equality, that helps trans youth and their families navigate bans on gender-affirming care and provides travel grants to those who need to seek care elsewhere.