Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Protect Parental Rights: ‘Parents Know Their Children Best’

A group of Republican lawmakers have introduced a bill to protect parents’ right to direct the upbringing, education and health care of their children.
Senators Tim Scott, R-S.C., and James Lankford, R-Okla., along with Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., introduced the Families’ Rights and Responsibilities Act this week, which protects several basic rights. The bill:
- Affirms that parents have the fundamental right to direct the upbringing, education, and health care of their children;
- Prevents the federal government from substantially burdening this fundamental right, without first passing the strict scrutiny test; and
- Allows parents to raise a violation of the bill as a claim or defense in judicial or administrative proceedings at the federal and state levels.
“Parents have a fundamental right to control the upbringing of their child, whether it’s in the classroom or at home,” said Senator Scott in a statement, adding,
Indeed, protecting parental rights is commonsense; it shouldn’t be controversial.
Unfortunately, it is.
Consider this incident when a 6-year-old student was told she was “racist” by her school’s principal and was punished for writing “any life” matters on a drawing she created.
Or consider St. Vrain Valley School District’s Gender Policy which hides students’ sexual identity struggles from their parents. Approximately 1,044 school districts have such policies nationwide, requiring school administrators to keep a student’s “transgender” status hidden from parents.
Or how about California’s new law which prohibits school employees from telling parents about their child’s sexual identity struggles.
Yes, a national bill protecting parents’ rights is sorely needed.
Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Matt Sharp, director of the Center for Public Policy, applauded the introduction of the bill in a statement:
Sharp noted that the bill also requires federal courts to treat parental rights just like other fundamental rights, like the right to free speech and the free exercise of religion. He added,
We thank Sens. Scott and Lankford, and Rep. Foxx, for introducing this crucial piece of legislation.
Related articles and resources:
Equipping Parents for Back-to-School – The free download helps you be aware of what’s going on in your child’s classroom and offers guidance for how to advocate for your child.
Championing Parents’ Rights in Education
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Zachary Mettler is a writer/analyst for the Daily Citizen at Focus on the Family. In his role, he writes about current political issues, U.S. history, political philosophy, and culture. Mettler earned his Bachelor’s degree from William Jessup University and is an alumnus of the Young Leaders Program at The Heritage Foundation. In addition to the Daily Citizen, his written pieces have appeared in the Daily Wire, the Washington Times, the Washington Examiner, Newsweek, Townhall, the Daily Signal, the Christian Post, Charisma News and other outlets.