The father of a Lexington, Massachusetts kindergartner who sued the town’s school district over the inclusion of books with LGBTQ- and DEI-inclusive themes — claiming they conflicted with his religious values — has won a preliminary injunction against the school district.

Reports the Boston Globe:

The order from US District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV came just months after the US Supreme Court decision Mahmoud v. Taylor, which supported the rights of parents to opt their children out of instruction on LGBTQ-related materials based on religious grounds. 

In the Lexington case, the parent of a 5-year-old kindergartner at the Joseph Estabrook Elementary School accused the school of refusing his requests to opt his son out of the materials related to sexual orientation and gender identity that he objected to on religious grounds, according to court papers.

In Saylor’s order on Tuesday, the judge wrote that the parent was likely to show the school’s LGBTQ classroom materials burdened his constitutional right to freely exercise his religion by posing the threat of undermining the religious beliefs and practices the parent wished to instill.

Absent an injunction, the parent was also likely to suffer irreparable harm due to the violation of his religious beliefs under the First Amendment, according to the order.

“While defendants contend that implementing the notice and opt-out procedures contemplated by plaintiff’s proposed injunction would burden them to some degree, any potential harm they face does not outweigh that faced by plaintiff — particularly where defendants concede that [the parent’s son] must be opted out of at least some materials,” Saylor wrote in his order.

The preliminary injunction will remain in place until vacated, modified, or superseded by the court, or until a trial that decides the case on its merits, according to Saylor.

According to court papers, the Lexington parent is a “committed, practicing Christian” with deeply held religious beliefs: “God created people in His image . . . either male or female” and “sexuality is designed by God to be expressed only within the context of a one-man, one-woman marriage,” filings said.

Because of those beliefs, it “violates [his] religious beliefs to allow [the parent’s son] to be instructed in content that focuses on diversity, equity, and inclusion issues, including issues of race, gender, and sexuality, taught from a secular worldview,” court papers said. 

Earlier in the fall, the parent sought to remove his son from the school’s health class, as well as any “DEI curriculum,” according to court papers. He also opposed the use of books in class with LGBTQ themes, including “Families, Families, Families!” and “All are Welcome,” which each depicted illustrations of LGBTQ families.

Read the complete Boston Globe story here.

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