On Tuesday, November 16, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) introduced his "parents bill of rights" in partnership with the Show-Me Institute, which issued its own version specifically for the State of Missouri. In reference to the federal legislation, Hawley wrote on his senatorial website that it is needed "to combat the Left's indoctrination of students," of which he says just about every parent in the country is now aware.

Less than seven pages long, Hawley's bill contains eight main points requiring schools to provide curriculum and financial transparency. It would amend Title VIII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 by adding (at the end) specific rights of parents to fully review curricula, books, and other educational materials used by the school attended by their minor child or local educational agency that serves such school.

The act provides for the right of parents to access information on teachers, guest speakers, and extracurricular activities such as school assemblies, as well as the right to "information pertaining to the collection and transmission of data" on their minor children. It affirms the right of parents "to be heard at school board meetings" and to be notified of any "situation affecting the safety of their minor child at school," including physical assaults. It also provides for enforcement of its rules.

In a November 15 op-ed on FoxNews.com, Hawley wrote: "Joe Biden's Justice Department has tried to turn the FBI into a monitor of school board meetings, with one DOJ official going so far as to draw up lists of federal crimes for which parents could be prosecuted. Failed Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe spoke the Democrat Party's mind when he infamously said, 'I don't think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.'

"Wrong. Parents have every right to direct their children's education, as the U.S. Supreme Court has long recognized. Parents make our schools work. The Left's concerted effort to silence parents' speech and ridicule their concerns is dangerous — for our children, our schools, and our democracy. It's time to do something about it. My proposal would guarantee [parents] a seat at the table they deserve, one that no bureaucrat — or political party — can take away."

Hawley added: "Over the past year, we've learned how school districts have quietly introduced new learning materials in classrooms related to critical race theory — often without parents' knowledge, let alone approval." He then listed several instances to support his point:

• An Illinois teacher reported being required to teach students that "racism is a white person's problem and we are all caught up in it," that "color blindness helps racism," as well as the need "to disrupt the Western nuclear family dynamics as the best/proper way to have a family."
• Seattle Public Schools released a draft math curriculum including discussion questions like "where does Power and Oppression show up in our math experiences?" — as if addition and subtraction could somehow be racist.
• The Virginia Department of Education even issued a document denouncing "microinvalidations," or "communications that subtly exclude, negate, or nullify the thoughts, feelings or experiential reality of a person of color." In other words, the search for truth takes a backseat to racial identity politics.

Hawley continued: "Faced with backlash, now the Left denies there is any such thing as critical race theory, and the media gladly repeat the falsehood. But parents know better.

"America's schools should be the envy of the world. And they will be, if America's parents are empowered. The Parents Bill of Rights is a start."

As may be expected, the education newspaper Education Week disparaged Hawley's bill and gave it little chance to advance. "New legislation in Congress to prioritize parents' rights to know what books their children are reading in school and the identity of guest presenters in classrooms underscores how such culturally divisive issues could stay in the political spotlight as conservative politicians champion what they see as a winning issue in 2022," the paper wrote. Interesting how protecting parents' rights is a "culturally divisive issue" but sneaking around behind their backs indoctrinating their minor children is not.

"... [P]rovisions of Hawley's bill — like a requirement to have parents opt their students into activities outside classrooms, and parents' power to review curriculum materials and activities at a detailed level — could in theory create major headaches for schools," EdWeek bawled. "And it's unclear how federal funding cuts like the kind Hawley proposes would work in practice."

These are the very issues the teachers unions and the education establishment have gone to great lengths to keep from the purview of parents.

Missouri bill is separate but similar

The Missouri Parents Bill of Rights is similar but not to be confused with Senator Hawley's national proposal. It does emphasize "transparency and accountability," which would reform the system to "allow taxpayers and parents to see exactly how their schools and districts are operating and what they are teaching."

The Show-Me Institute's Director of Government Accountability, Patrick Ishmael, said: "Too often, local officials have resisted oversight of Missouri public schools and districts. School bureaucrats from across the state have pushed back against Sunshine requests filed by the public, including many from the Show-Me Curricula Project, and now lawsuits are flying. I've heard stories from concerned parents and teachers about their treatment by school officials and their fears of persecution for speaking up about controversial issues.

"This is not how parents and taxpayers should be treated by our public education system. Enough is enough."

As may be expected, the Missouri bill is already under attack by left-leaning mainstream news outlets such as the Kansas City Star, which opined that the Show Me Institute is trying to sneak money to private schools. "They want parents to be able to choose private schools and require taxpayers to pay the cost, through vouchers, tuition credits, tax-advantaged savings accounts and the like."

The Star further accused the plan of being designed "to make angry people angrier. It purports to reflect the interests of moms and dads after a year of fierce debates over curriculum and student safety."

Ishmael says these claims are lies. "At no point does the text of the MPBR reference — sneakily or otherwise — expanding Missouri's educational choice options beyond its current boundaries. A simple call to our office or my personal cell, which staff at the Star have, would have further disabused the editorial writer of the notion. And if, as the editorial stipulates, people are angry about what is happening in their schools, this proposal intends to be a solution that reduces that anger by solving those problems."

Problem solving! How quaint.

The Missouri Parents Bill of Rights joins other state efforts to support and protect parents, including initiatives in Minnesota and Arkansas. Given the current political climate, it will be interesting see how these legislative efforts fare, both at the state and national levels.

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