Congress to consider Julia Letlow's 'Parents Bill of Rights'
WASHINGTON -- Embracing a national conservative push to influence public school curriculums that they say skews too much towards LGBTQ rights and African American history, U.S. House Republicans rallied Wednesday behind a Louisiana congresswoman's bill that could help parents circumvent courses they find objectionable.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., vowed that the Parents Bill of Rights Act of 2023, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow, R-Start, would clear the GOP-majority House and be sent to the Democratic-majority Senate within the next few weeks. The bill will be heard next week and will likely be voted upon by the full House by the end of March or early April.
House Republicans rolled out the bill before a gathering of families who have been in the forefront of recent protests. Letlow said that when schools were closed and virtual lessons were common during the pandemic, parents learned, often for the first time, what was being taught to their children.
"So many of us were disheartened by what we were viewing," Letlow said. "We went to our school boards and we were turned away. Some of us were labeled domestic terrorists. That was absolutely not right. That was the impetus for this bill."
She says her H.R. 5 establishes legal protections in federal law that ensure parents throughout the nation "always have a seat at the table when it comes to their child's education."
Critics say that parents already have the rights enumerated in the legislation through parental interaction with school personnel and local school boards. Louisiana Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley praised the Letlow bill. "Children belong to their parents and it's essential to codify these undeniable rights, " he said.
Congresswoman Julia Letlow's "Parents Bill of Rights"
H.R. 5 allows parents to:
- Review their school's curriculum, academic standards, and the reading materials available to their child. School districts must post curriculum information publicly and provide a list of reading materials available in the school library.
- Engage with their local school board and educators. Teachers must offer two in-person meetings per year and allow parents to address the school board.
- Examine a school's budget, including revenue and expenditures.
- Protect their child's privacy. Schools would not be able to sell student data for commercial purposes and parental consent would be necessary before any medical exam can take place on school grounds.
- Schools would need to notify parents of violence that occurs on school grounds or at school-sponsored events, while protecting the privacy of students involved.
Louisiana already has a "Parents' Bill of Rights for Public Schools" enshrined in a state law starting with a 2014 bill and updated since.
The issue has gained traction recently among conservative Republicans across the nation.
"The bureaucracy has branded parents with a scarlet letter and called them terrorists," said Rep. Virginia Foxx, the Gastonia, N.C. Republican who chairs the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, which is scheduled to hear H.R. 5 on March 8.
About 60 parents and children attended the news conference, some of whom have made the news over their dissatisfaction with how their local schools are being operated. Oreo cookies were stacked and ready for the families who attended.
Nicole Solas filed a lawsuit against the South Kingstown, R.I. school district's taxpayer-funded Black, Indigenous, and People of Color Advisory Board over what her daughter would be taught in kindergarten. Her lawsuit was handled by the Goldwater Institute, a Phoenix-based advocate for using public money to support privately owned education facilities through school vouchers and charter schools.
Another parent, Nelly McAllister of Fairfax County, Virginia, had stark words for the lawmakers in the room.
"We were dismayed and appalled at the adult subject matter that was on the bookshelves, easily accessible," in school libraries and the classrooms, she said. "As parents it is our primary duty to protect our children and preserve their innocence. Unfortunately, there is a toxic movement infiltrating our schools that is more interested in pushing a political agenda rather than teaching our students."
Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin was able to rally parental anger to help win his race and become governor in January 2022.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis also signed a "Parents' Bill of Rights" bill into law last year.
Opponents said DeSantis's law would identify LGBTQ and transgender students against their will. DeSantis countered that parents should make decisions about their children's educations regardless of what public school officials say.
The Missouri General Assembly recently approved legislation that banned the teaching of so-called 'critical race theory.'
CRT is an advanced higher education framework that academics and lawyers use to research currently accepted processes and procedures that may have originated with racist intent years ago. Some conservatives have co-opted the critical race theory term to mean the teaching of American history in a way to shame White children.
The North Carolina Senate in February approved a similar bill. Legislatures in South Carolina, Colorado, Indiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, and elsewhere are considering parental bill of rights measures.