WASHINGTON (AP) — A prince lassos a dragon, saving a knight in shining armor from certain death. But the prince slips and as he falls, the knight and his steed race to return the favor.
Then the two men fall in love.
That story, “Prince and Knight,” is one of five children's books featuring LGBTQ characters and aimed at kindergarten through the fifth grade that have roiled a diverse suburban Maryland school district and led to a Supreme Court case that the justices will hear on Tuesday.
Parents in Montgomery County who object for religious reasons want to pull their children from elementary school classes that use the books.
The county school system has refused and lower courts have so far agreed.
But the outcome could be different at a high court dominated by conservative justices who have repeatedly endorsed claims of religious discrimination in recent years.
The parents argue that public schools cannot force kids to participate in instruction that violates their faith. They point to opt-out provisions in sex education and note that the district originally allowed parents to pull their children when the storybooks were being taught before abruptly reversing course.
“It’s labeled as a language arts, you know, reading and writing program, but the content of the material is very sexual,” said Billy Moges, a board member of the parents group Kids First that formed in response to the addition of the books to the curriculum. “It is teaching human sexuality and is confusing kids, and parents are not comfortable having their children exposed to these things at such an early age.”
Dozens of parents testified at school board hearings about their religious obligations to keep their impressionable young children from lessons on gender and sexuality that conflicted with their beliefs.
Moges said she pulled her three daughters, now 10, 8 and 6, from their public schools as a result. They were initially homeschooled and now attend a private Christian school, she said.
The school system declined to comment, citing the ongoing lawsuit.
But in court papers, lawyers for the schools wrote that the handful of storybooks are not sex-education materials but "rather tell everyday tales of characters who experience adventure, confront new emotions, and struggle to make themselves heard.” The books touch on the same themes found in classic stories that include Snow White, Cinderella and Peter Pan, the lawyers wrote.
In “Uncle Bobby’s Wedding,” a niece worries that her uncle will not have as much time for her after he gets married. His partner is a man. “Love, Violet” deals with a girl's anxiety about giving a valentine to another girl. “Born Ready” is the story of a transgender boy’s decision to share his gender identity with his family and the world. “Intersection Allies” describes nine characters of varying backgrounds, including one who is gender-fluid.
The books were chosen “in order to better represent all Montgomery County families" and teachers may not use them "to pressure students to change or to change or disavow religious views,” the schools' lawyers said.
The school system abandoned the option of letting parents take their kids out of the lessons because doing so “became unworkably disruptive,” the lawyers told the court.
The writers' group Pen America, which reported more than 10,000 books banned in the last school year, said in a court filing what the parents want is "a constitutionally suspect book ban by another name.”
The difficulty of providing alternative lessons for some children anytime the books are used probably would force the county to pull the books from the curriculum, said Tasslyn Magnusson, senior adviser with the Freedom to Read program at PEN America.
“I really hope people read these books. They’re just lovely examples of experiences that kids have in school and they're perfectly fine storybooks to have as part of an educational curriculum,” Magnusson said.
One book that was originally part of the curriculum and then pulled for unexplained reasons is “My Rainbow,” co-written by Delaware state Rep. DeShanna Neal and daughter Trinity.
The story tells of Trinity's desire for long hair as a transgender girl and her mother's solution, knitting a rainbow wig.
Neal has grown used to having the book taken out of circulation at libraries, including in Florida, Ohio and Texas.
“School is a place to learn about why the world is different and how it’s different,” Neal said. "What I had hoped would come out of this book was, listen to your children. They know their own bodies."
A selection of books featuring LGBTQ characters that are part of a Supreme Court case are pictured, Tuesday, April, 15, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
A selection of books featuring LGBTQ characters that are part of a Supreme Court case are pictured, Tuesday, April, 15, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
FILE - The Supreme Court is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
ST. LOUIS (AP) — World champions Ilia Malinin and the ice dance duo of Madison Chock and Evan Bates will anchor one of the strongest U.S. Figure Skating teams in history when they head to Italy for the Milan Cortina Olympics in less than a month.
Malinin, fresh off his fourth straight national title, will be the prohibitive favorite to follow in the footsteps of Nathan Chen by delivering another men's gold medal for the American squad when he steps on the ice at the Milano Ice Skating Arena.
Chock and Bates, who won their record-setting seventh U.S. title Saturday night, also will be among the Olympic favorites, as will world champion Alysa Liu and women's teammate Amber Glenn, fresh off her third consecutive national title.
U.S. Figure Skating announced its full squad of 16 athletes for the Winter Games during a made-for-TV celebration Sunday.
"I'm just so excited for the Olympic spirit, the Olympic environment," Malinin said. “Hopefully go for that Olympic gold.”
Malinin will be joined on the men's side by Andrew Torgashev, the all-or-nothing 24-year-old from Coral Springs, Florida, and Maxim Naumov, the 24-year-old from Simsbury, Connecticut, who fulfilled the hopes of his late parents by making the Olympic team.
Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova were returning from a talent camp in Kansas when their American Airlines flight collided with a military helicopter and crashed into the icy Potomac River in January 2025. One of the last conversations they had with their son was about what it would take for him to follow in their footsteps by becoming an Olympian.
“We absolutely did it,” Naumov said. “Every day, year after year, we talked about the Olympics. It means so much in our family. It's what I've been thinking about since I was 5 years old, before I even know what to think. I can't put this into words.”
Chock and Bates helped the Americans win team gold at the Beijing Games four years ago, but they finished fourth — one spot out of the medals — in the ice dance competition. They have hardly finished anywhere but first in the years since, winning three consecutive world championships and the gold medal at three straight Grand Prix Finals.
U.S. silver medalists Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik also made the dance team, as did the Canadian-born Christina Carreira, who became eligible for the Olympics in November when her American citizenship came through, and Anthony Ponomarenko.
Liu was picked for her second Olympic team after briefly retiring following the Beijing Games. She had been burned out by years of practice and competing, but stepping away seemed to rejuvenate the 20-year-old from Clovis, California, and she returned to win the first world title by an American since Kimmie Meissner stood atop the podium two decades ago.
Now, the avant-garde Liu will be trying to help the U.S. win its first women's medal since Sasha Cohen in Turin in 2006, and perhaps the first gold medal since Sarah Hughes triumphed four years earlier at the Salt Lake City Games.
Her biggest competition, besides a powerful Japanese contingent, could come from her own teammates: Glenn, a first-time Olympian, has been nearly unbeatable the past two years, while 18-year-old Isabeau Levito is a former world silver medalist.
"This was my goal and my dream and it just feels so special that it came true,” said Levito, whose mother is originally from Milan.
The two pairs spots went to Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea, the U.S. silver medalists, and the team of Emily Chan and Spencer Howe.
The top American pairs team, two-time reigning U.S. champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, were hoping that the Finnish-born Efimova would get her citizenship approved in time to compete in Italy. But despite efforts by the Skating Club of Boston, where they train, and the help of their U.S. senators, she did not receive her passport by the selection deadline.
“The importance and magnitude of selecting an Olympic team is one of the most important milestones in an athlete's life,” U.S. Figure Skating CEO Matt Farrell said, "and it has such an impact, and while there are sometimes rules, there is also a human element to this that we really have to take into account as we make decisions and what's best going forward from a selection process.
“Sometimes these aren't easy," Farrell said, “and this is not the fun part.”
The fun is just beginning, though, for the 16 athletes picked for the powerful American team.
AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Amber Glenn competes during the women's free skating competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Alysa Liu skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Maxim Naumov skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Madison Chock and Evan Bates skate during the "Making the Team" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Gold medalist Ilia Malinin arrives for the metal ceremony after the men's free skate competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
