Opt Your Child Out
RESOURCES FOR PARENTS AND SCHOOL DISTRICTS
You don’t need a special form to opt your child out. Notify your school district of your sincerely held belief and identify the instruction or materials you want your child excluded from. Our model opt-out letter gives you a starting point.
HOW IT WORKS
Opting out in five steps
An opt-out is a written notice telling your child’s school that, because of your family’s sincerely held beliefs, you do not want your child to take part in specific instruction or materials. No specific form is required. Our model letter gives you a place to start.
Download the model letter
Get the opt-out letter template (Word document) below. It is a starting template, not a finished document.
Make it your own
Describe your family’s sincerely held beliefs in your own words, and identify the specific instruction or materials you want your child excluded from.
Fill in your details and sign
Add your information and your child’s, then print and sign the letter.
Deliver it to your school
Give the signed letter to your school’s administration.
Keep a copy
Save a copy of your letter and make a note of when and how you delivered it.
Did your school or district refuse to honor your opt-out? See how Thomas More Society can help.
This page provides general information and is not legal advice. Downloading or using the template does not create an attorney-client relationship.
PROTECT YOUR RIGHTS
Know your rights, and use them.
Thomas More Society is enforcing the Supreme Court’s landmark parental rights decisions in Mahmoud v. Taylor (2025) and Mirabelli v. Bonta (2026) across the country by taking legal action and giving parents the tools to protect their families today.
Opt your child out
Did your district refuse your opt-out? Tell us.
Guidance for school districts
THE BACKGROUND
Why this matters now
In Mirabelli v. Bonta (2026), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that California violated parents’ constitutional rights by allowing schools to hide students’ gender transitions from their own mothers and fathers. The principle behind that ruling reaches well beyond gender identity: parents have a right to know what their children are being taught and exposed to at school, and a right to say no.
The decision builds on Mahmoud v. Taylor (2025), in which the Court sided with parents after a Maryland school district refused to let them opt their children out of LGBTQ+ storybooks that conflicted with their faith. Mirabelli went further. The Court confirmed that all parents, not only those with religious objections, have a fundamental Fourteenth Amendment right to be informed about, and to opt their children out of, school instruction or activities that substantially interfere with their right to direct their children’s upbringing. That right covers a wide range of circumstances, not just the narrow scope some school officials have tried to impose, and it applies to students from kindergarten through 12th grade.
Together, these decisions make clear what schools owe families. Schools must give meaningful advance notice before presenting instruction or material that may conflict with a family’s values or beliefs. When a parent opts out, the school must honor the request and provide adequate alternative instruction so the child’s learning isn’t disrupted.
Stay informed on parental rights
Get updates on our fight for parental rights, new demand letters, and our legal work at Thomas More Society.