The Supreme Court's decisions in Mirabelli v. Bonta (2026) and Mahmoud v. Taylor (2025) established that parents have a constitutional right to advance notice of—and the ability to opt their children out of—school instruction or activities that substantially interfere with their right to direct their children's upbringing.

Mirabelli confirmed that all parents—not only those with religious objections—have a fundamental Fourteenth Amendment right to be informed and to opt out, and that right applies to students of every age, from kindergarten through 12th grade. Under Mahmoud, this includes any instruction or material that threatens to undermine parents' religious beliefs and practices.

Schools must provide meaningful advance notice to parents before presenting instruction or material that may conflict with families' values or beliefs. Upon receiving an opt-out request, schools must honor it and provide adequate alternative instruction so that a student's academic progress is not disrupted.

There are no formal requirements for making an opt-out request. Parents should not be deterred from exercising their rights by a school's failure to provide a specific process or form. A valid request need only identify the objectionable instruction or material and state the basis for the parent's objection — whether rooted in religious conviction, the parent's fundamental right to direct their child's upbringing, or both.

To assist parents in any public school in exercising these rights, Thomas More Society has prepared fully adaptable model opt-out letter templates for relevant scenarios. Parents may adapt these forms to their family's particular circumstances and beliefs.

Please contact Thomas More Society using our Legal Help Form in the event that your school district does not honor a parent’s valid opt-out request, however submitted, or if a school district needs further guidance or counsel in adopting a policy that supports parents' right to notice and opt-out as upheld in Mirabelli and Mahmoud.