During the oral arguments for 'Mahmoud v. Taylor', Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor questioned an attorney about cases of parents suing schools over classroom content.
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00:00Well, just to be clear, under Yoder, the court left open what would happen if there were kids who objected.
00:05But we know that these things, you know, schools around the country already have these very broad opt-out policies
00:10across the curriculum in Hawaii for anything controversial, in Arizona for anything that parents find deem harmful.
00:15And we just don't find these kinds of cases or these kinds of burdens where parents are bringing extreme examples.
00:22You know, parents with kids really don't have a lot of time to be suing the school board, and they're looking for a reasonable compromise.
00:26I have a whole list of cases where parents have objected to biographical, I'm quoting,
00:34biographical material about women who have been recognized for achievements outside of their home,
00:41because some people believe women should not work.
00:44So, too, parents have objected to teachers reading books featuring divorce, interfaith marriage, or in modest dress.
00:53Forget about the evolution, because that's come, too.
00:55You've just said, are these all coercive?
01:01Well, again, whatever coercive means, they could create a burden.
01:07This court has defined burden very simply, that if someone is trying to exercise a sincere religious belief
01:12and the government is prohibiting or inhibiting their ability to exercise that, that creates a burden.
01:16If someone's prohibiting just looking at something that they object to, that that's burdening their religion?
01:25Again, we don't see these cases arise in reality.
01:28For reality's sake, you see interfaith couples all the time walking around.
01:33You see interracial couples walking around.
01:37You see women on this court in positions of work outside the home.
01:43And no one here is raising a burden in that situation.
01:46We're far beyond that word of indoctrination.
01:49But there are cases to that effect in schools.
01:52And those cases...
01:53Tell me where you're going to draw the line.
01:55Other than saying that if anyone objects to a book, well, you want more than that,
02:02because the request here is to instruct the school to tell you its curricula,
02:10to guess at what you might find offensive, and then let you opt out.
02:16Because that's the injunction you're asking for, isn't it?
02:19You're asking for the ability for schools to provide you with the information about what's being taught,
02:27and if you object to it on religious grounds, to opt out.
02:30Your Honor, I see my light is on. May I answer the question?
02:32You may, yes.
02:33Your Honor, even under Yoder, without Yoder, under a Smith regime,
02:37in here, those things would trigger strict scrutiny.
02:39If you're in a regime where there's direct discrimination like we have here,
02:43we have students who are being told that they can opt out for certain religious reasons,
02:47but not other religious reasons, and that's always going to get you to strict scrutiny.
02:51Thank you, Councilor.