The Chino Valley school district will look to add language into its policies from a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that gives parents the right to opt out of lessons for students that interfere with families’ religious beliefs.

At its Thursday meeting, the board asked officials to ensure its policies on the use of supplementary materials and teaching controversial topics in curriculum reflect the recent ruling.

The move follows a June 27 ruling in the Mahmoud v. Taylor case that said parents have a right to opt out of lessons that conflict with their religious beliefs. The court opinion said that parents have the right to direct the religious education of their children and that the government cannot put conditions on free public education that could interfere.

Chino Valley Unified School District board President Sonja Shaw proposed the discussion to look at the implications of the court’s ruling and whether the district’s policies match the court’s decision.

Shaw, who announced her run for state superintendent of schools in March, was elected to the board in 2022 and became its president in 2023.

Shaw called the ruling “a huge win for parents” and said schools should get back to focusing on reading and math rather than ideologies.

The board wants to strengthen its policies to ensure parents have an opt-out option available, she said.

“This includes reviewing policies related to controversial materials, supplemental curriculum and parental rights to opt out,” a report from district officials states. “The discussion will provide an opportunity to examine the potential implications for families and ensure clarity regarding notifications and the process for opting out when instruction conflicts with sincerely held religious beliefs.”

The Supreme Court case, out of Montgomery County, Maryland, centered on LGBTQ+-inclusive storybooks. The Maryland school board added the storybooks to provide teaching that represented the county’s diversity. Initially, the board had an opt-out policy that allowed parents to pull students from the instruction.

Later, the district removed that opt-out option and said it “could not accommodate the growing number of opt-out requests without causing significant disruptions to the classroom environment.”

The court’s ruling overturned an appellate court’s denial of a preliminary injunction. The court found that exposing students to curriculum involving the LGBTQ+ community undermined parents’ right to direct the religious upbringing of their children.

The court said the exposure — particularly for elementary-aged children — violated families’ freedom of religion under the First Amendment.

A handful of parents and others spoke about the proposal at Thursday’s Chino Valley meeting, saying the ruling would limit children’s education and attempt to erase teachings about the LGBTQ+ community.

“Where does this end? Your child doesn’t have to learn about the enigma code because it was created by a gay man?” said Glory Ciccarelli, a Chino Valley parent who said during the meeting she would run for Shaw’s seat in 2026.

Ciccarelli said a policy aligning with the ruling would sanitize history and could go beyond the LGBTQ+ community.

Amanda Swager, a district teacher, questioned if the board really wanted a policy based on the ruling because it would bring negative attention to the district.

“Teachers don’t pick literature in our classrooms because it offends people,” Swager said. “The reality is this is a politically hot charged topic that will go nowhere but in a negative direction.”

Paul Griffin, a past school board candidate, said teaching about the LGBTQ+ community was vital for all students.

“This is how facism begins,” Griffin said. “We do not need any of this going into our school district. These books are there to make sure our students know these people exist, and they deserve to be respected.”

Chino Valley’s previous board policies have been criticized for targeting the LGBTQ+ community, making national news and landing the district in court.

Policies include a ban on all non-U.S. or nonmilitary flags in classrooms, which LGBTQ+ advocates call an indirect ban on pride flags, and a change to the district’s library policy, making it easier to take books with sexually explicit content off shelves.

The board also voted in a a policy requiring schools to inform parents within three days if their child identifies as transgender.

After that vote, other school districts, including Temecula Valley, Murrieta Valley and Orange, passed similar policies. The Chino Valley district is suing to block a 2024 state law that bans school districts from having transgender notification policies.