House Republicans under the leadership of Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California are reintroducing legislation to promote parental rights in their children’s education, giving them more of a say in school curriculum.
The Parents’ Bill of Rights Act will ensure that parents are aware of their rights by requiring school systems to provide parents with the curriculum and reading materials, and allow parents to see the budget and spending. The bill will give parents the ability to protect their child’s privacy and mandates that schools make parents aware of any violent activity that occurs.
“That’s what today is all about: It’s about every parent, every mom and dad, but most importantly about the students in America,” said McCarthy when introducing the bill.
The bill also mandates that the school provide parents with a list of books available in the library. Teachers have to propose two, in person teacher-parent meetings per year, and the school board must respect the First Amendment rights of parents, allowing them to voice concerns. (RELATED: There’s One Key Issue That Could Decide The 2024 GOP Primaries)
Today, @SpeakerMcCarthy, along with @HouseGOP, moved forward with the #ParentsBillofRights to ensure American parents & children are safe from progressive indoctrination in our schools. pic.twitter.com/Ie8qK4AjgQ
— Aaron Bean (@RepAaronBean) March 2, 2023
Many Republican governors have made parents’ rights a point of focus in their administrations, namely Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin. In March 2022, DeSantis signed the Parental Rights In Education bill which prevents teaching on “gender ideology and sexual orientation” in grades K-3, and Youngkin signed a bill requiring schools to notify parents when “sexually explicit” content is used in the classroom in April 2022.
“So many times across this nation, we found that parents were attacked, called terrorists, and they simply wanted to go to school boards to be heard about what’s going on,” McCarthy said.
“McCarthy would rather seek to stoke racial and social division and distract us from what will really help our students thrive: an inspiring, inclusive, and age-appropriate curriculum that prepares each and every one of them for their future,” the National Education Association (NEA) told The Associated Press in a statement.
The NEA is the country’s largest teachers’ union. In 2022, the union pushed gender ideology and critical race theory into the classroom, called parents extremists and promoted LGBTQ ally badges and summer reading lists with books about kneeling during the National Anthem.
The NEA did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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