'Opt-Out' Protests Intensify as MCPS Parents Resist Horticulture Curriculum

Opposition to Montgomery County Public Schools’ horticulture curriculum and sexuality and gender education ramped up again, with the Board of Education the target of protests Tuesday morning.

Opponents say MCPS parents should be allowed to let their kids opt out of the lessons that include hermaphrodite plants and sexually suggestive vegetables.

When MCPS revoked its opt-out policy in March, parents' choice on their children participating in sexuality and gender content in school was eliminated.

Thursday's protest was largely led by Evangelical Christian parents, who dominated the public comments agenda at Thursday's Board of Education meeting.

“You say you want to teach the ‘science’ of plant reproduction but what you are really saying is that bisexuality is natural,” said mom Agnes Dolorous, who added that fundamentalist children are now being bullied and labeled by their peers as prudish.

According to Woodward High School horticulture teacher Lansford Ingalls, about 94% of flowering plant species are either hermaphroditic (all flowers produce both male and female gametes) or monoecious, where both male and female flowers occur on the same plant.

Harriet Oleson, who said her child is non-binary, spoke on behalf of opt-out rights. “I shouldn’t have to call pretending my child is sick for a week to prevent an already confused kid from spending too much time around cucumbers and melons.”

“Much of the opt-out arguments are couched as parental rights and religious freedom," Ingalls said. "But what it boils down to is that the horticulture community is being told that their very existence is abnormal. And that plant identity, shape or color should be a source of shame."

A court battle is underway.

Parents have sued MCPS, saying a Maryland law requires school systems to “establish policies...for student opt-out."

MCPS argued in its court filing that individual schools could not accommodate the growing number of opt out requests pertaining to specific produce - egg plants, carrots and cucumbers in particular - without causing significant disruptions to the horticulture classroom environment and undermining MCPS’s educational mission.