Parents Have a Right to Know What’s Going on at School

It’s Important for Parents to Be Updated on School Events

Two Ohio state representatives recently introduced a parental rights measure that would mandate warnings about “sexually explicit” course material and any alterations to services affecting “the student’s mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being.” Even though such a program should be widely supported, it has been met with widespread opposition. One ex-teacher, for instance, said that the law amounted to a “infantilizing of teachers” and that it was “insulting” that politicians who had never worked in education would pretend to make such choices.

To be clear, these lawmakers were not dictating the content of the curriculum but rather ensuring that parents may ask for a substitute activity if their kid was exposed to “depict[ions] of sexual behaviour” and that they were kept updated on their child’s progress in school.

Naturally, parents saw their children’s work posted online during Covid lockdowns, but opponents now oppose school transparency proposals calling for continuous access to course information with vehemence. One Florida superintendent, for instance, said in March that “an awful load that I believe would simply throw people over the edge” if law mandated openness via online publication of information. Matt Beienburg from the Goldwater Institute claimed that “the burden of making these documents accessible should be very small,” and a simple online check confirmed that instructors in that county are already expected to submit lesson plans to administrators digitally.

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Others who are opposed to these bills point out that parents were given a chance to weigh in on curriculum standards when they were first announced. However, as Beienburg pointed out, parents only think about curriculum when it comes time to enroll their child in school; they don’t give it a second thought when those standards are being revised.

Even if modern curricula did not imply ideas that undercut Christian faith and values, parents would still have every right to demand disclosure. However, as the Parents Toolkit on Critical Theory from Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) shows, they do. The absolute least that should happen is that parents have the option to opt out their children, but they should be informed about when and what is being taught to them in order to make that request.

Comprehensive sex education programs, some of which are sexually graphic, were found to be “ineffective” non lowering adolescent sexual activity in a research published in 2018. Also, “substantial negative impacts were seen in five school-based CSE programs” (three increased rates of adolescent sex, one increased rates of teen pregnancy, and one decreased rates of contraception usage).

Similar to how critics allege that the concepts of Critical Race Theory, which is a legal theory, are not taught in schools, the opposite is often true. As stated in ADF’s PDF toolkit:

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It is a violation of students’ right to free expression when they are coerced (with the fear of penalty) into agreeing with assertions like “America is essentially racist” or “white privilege” or “implicit prejudice.” Furthermore, it educates minority kids that the racism inherent in the American system will restrict their achievement no matter how hard they try.

Many schools are surreptitiously developing a “gender support plan,” and this is the most compelling cause for parents to be concerned and involved. Especially teenage females who may be experiencing gender dysphoria are subjected to extreme concepts about gender and identity. Parents who seek assistance from a school counselor may find that the counselor is supporting their child’s gender confusion, despite the fact that in certain places it is illegal for mental health professionals to encourage people with gender dysphoria to accept their bodies.

Ohio, the state where the school transparency measure was presented, also has a bill on the table that would prohibit “gender identity” and other forms of conversion treatment for kids. The minor must have their request for a change in gender identification respected. Medical professionals risk having their licenses revoked or having their registrations not renewed if they do not follow the rules. They would, in effect, be rendered unemployed.

So, whose speech is truly being stifled when an LGBTQ group claims that the true objective of the Ohio school transparency measure is “to suppress discourse about gender and sexuality in classrooms under the cover of parental rights”? In other words, the educators? Or the guidance counselor who, under the second bill, cannot confirm what the kid knows to be true about his or her physical self?

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Parents have a “deeply rooted” constitutional right “to direct the upbringing of their children, and to make decisions regarding their children’s education and healthcare that are consistent with family values,” so it’s important that institutions be open and honest with their data so that they can be held accountable.

Join me on Tuesday, October 11 for an important discussion titled “Kids and Culture: The Clash for the Next Generation’s Hearts and Minds,” which will be held in person or through online live streaming. My co-host on Breakpoint This Week, Maria Baer, Aaron Baer from the Center for Christian Virtue, and Todd Marrah from Tree of Life Christian Schools will all be joining us for this discussion. Your complimentary ticket is available for reservation at ccv.org.

Opponents of parental rights often make the argument that proponents of these rights are attempting to sow discord in the community. As a matter of fact, parents who shield their children from potentially harmful ideas are only doing their jobs.

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