Republican Governors Line Up to Capitalize on the Parental Education Movement – By Lauren Camera (US News) / Mar 6, 2023
Republican governors are pitching – and GOP-controlled statehouses are eagerly advancing – sweeping K-12 overhauls that empower parents far beyond just mandating what they can know and say.
When House Speaker Kevin McCarthy introduced in the Republican-controlled chamber his “Parents Bill of Rights Act,” he made good on a major GOP campaign pledge to elevate the role of parental control in public schools across the country.
“You have a say in your kids’ education – not government and not telling you what to do,” the California Republican said last week during an education policy discussion.
The bill is a revival of a legislative proposal Republicans pitched in 2021, during the fallout over pandemic schooling at a time in which school board meetings were overwhelmed by throngs of parents angry about masks, virtual learning and the types of books their children were reading – a stew of culture war issues strategically magnified by conservative politicians.
Among other things, the bill would require schools to publicly post their academic standards, curriculum, school budget and spending, and a list of books available in libraries. It would mandate two parent-teacher conferences each year and enshrine the existing rights of parents to speak at school board meetings. And it would prevent schools from sharing or selling student data to tech companies.
