Bakersfield City School District to adopt policy revisions letting parents opt students out of activities for religious reasons

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — The Bakersfield City School District Board of Education is expected to adopt policy revisions to allow parents to opt their kids out of school activities on the basis of their religious beliefs on Tuesday.

According to the agenda, the revisions are meant to update the language in the policy to address the impact of the Mahmoud v. Taylor decision.

Mahmoud v. Taylor is a United States Supreme Court case which ruled that parents can opt their children out of instruction for reasons related to the child’s religious upbringing after parents challenged a Maryland public school system for introducing LGBTQ+-inclusive storybooks.

A proposed addition in the policy says the district will notify parents or guardians that they can opt their students out of instruction on the basis of their religious beliefs with a written request. This includes health, family life or sex education.

Students who get opted out may be offered an alternative activity with similar educational value, the revision said.

The student will also not be subjected to disciplinary action, academic penalty or other consequences, according to the agenda.

The opt-out request can either be granted or denied. If denied, the principal would need to let the parents know why it was denied, at which point the parents can appeal the decision by submitting a written request to the superintendent.

The revisions also include explanations on when and how teaching about religion is acceptable in a classroom setting.

For instance, the approach to religion should be educational and not devotional, and the goal of teaching it should be for awareness for historical and contemporary societies, the proposed revisions said.

The board is recommended by the school district staff to adopt the revisions during the meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday at 1300 Baker St.

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