Minnesota public school allows Somali Muslim families to opt out of LGBT curriculum.
St. Louis Park Public Schools was slapped with two demand letters in recent months
A Minnesota public school district is allowing six Somali Muslim families to opt of its curriculum material that affirms LGBTQ behavior after attorneys at two law firms fired off demand letters last year.
First Liberty Institute and True North Legal announced earlier this week that St. Louis Park Public Schools (SLP) near Minneapolis is now not only permitting elementary school students to opt out of such material, but also students in the district's middle and high school, according to a press release.
The two firms were representing six Muslim families who had immigrated to the U.S. from war-torn Somalia within the past 20 years, according to First Liberty. The parents wanted to know when their children would be encountering material that touched on sexuality, and LGBTQ sexuality in particular.
Fatuma Irshat, one of the mothers involved in the case, said her family believes "that we have a sacred obligation to teach the principles of our faith to our children without being undermined by the schools."
Hodan Hassan, another parent, said her family "came to America because of its rich heritage of protecting religious liberty and the opportunity to raise our children in a place where they have access to success."
"We were shocked that our children were being taught material that violates our beliefs, but we’re grateful that the school has granted our opt-out requests," Hassan added.
Kayla Toney, associate counsel at First Liberty Institute, told The Christian Post that the attorneys sent the district their first demand letter in November and another in December asking it to grant the parents' opt-out requests, which they claim were at first denied.
The second letter sent to the district took issue with its "Alternative Learning Procedure," which was created in response to parental concerns, but which attorneys argued exhibited "burdensome prerequisites inconsistent" with state law and exposed families to unnecessary scrutiny. CP.