On Friday, the House of Representatives voted to pass the controversial Parents Bill of Rights Act, with just a handful of Republicans opposing it and all Democrats voting against.
The bill would grant parents access to various kinds of curriculum information, safety and mask policies, gender ideology and critical race theory taught in classrooms as well as informing them if school staff begin encouraging or permitting a child’s transition within gender ideology.
The passing of this bill comes in response to growing anger across the country regarding limited parent insight into their children’s education.
While Republicans have argued that this bill is necessary for parents to understand exactly what their children are exposed to in school, Democrats have vehemently opposed it on grounds that it goes beyond parental knowledge and instead provides an opportunity for “fascism” and “extreme” views of conservatives.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) expressed her disapproval of the bill during floor debate: “This Republican bill is asking the government to force the outing of LGBT people before they are ready.”
However, Virginia Foxx (R-NC), Chairwoman of the Committee on Education & The Workforce was quick to counteract such accusations by asserting that: “The bill does not address a student’s identity or statements but is solely focused on notifying parents about actions taken by school personnel”.
Furthermore, the proposed legislation seeks to ensure that parents are informed if schools take action “to change a minor child’s gender markers, pronouns or preferred name; or allow a child to change sex-based accommodations including locker rooms or bathrooms.”
