Parents Across the Nation Are on the March
Our team has been working nonstop with our volunteers across the nation in these first few days of 2022. Already, the hard work we all have been doing for the past months to advance parental rights is paying off!
Here’s a quick summary of where we are:
Fundamental Parental Rights Statute Introduced in Pennsylvania. We’re excited that our model statute has been introduced in Pennsylvania as S.B. 996. The bill declares, “The liberty of a parent to direct the upbringing, education, care and welfare of the parent’s child is a fundamental right.” ParentalRights.org strongly supports this bill. If you live in Pennsylvania, please call your state senator and ask him or her to sign on as a cosponsor of S.B. 996.
Protecting Parental Rights in Missouri. State legislators in Missouri have introduced H.B. 1995, a fundamental parental rights statute that protects parental rights and provides parents in public school with additional protections regarding their children. We are working with our friends at Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) and Families for Home Education (FHE) in Missouri to tighten up some of the language in the bill. ParentalRights.org president Will Estrada sent a letter to the sponsor and also submitted formal written testimony to the legislature yesterday.
Curriculum Transparency Bills Introduced in Numerous States. ParentalRights.org generally supports bills that provide parents of children in public school with information about what their children are learning. ParentalRights.org has been monitoring numerous curriculum transparency bills that have been introduced across the nation.
In Ohio, a curriculum transparency bill was introduced that included homeschools and private schools. ParentalRights.org president Will Estrada and our friends at HSLDA met with the sponsors of the bill to explain how this was not acceptable, and we are grateful that the sponsors listened to our concerns.
In Indiana, several versions of curriculum transparency bills have been introduced, including S.B. 167 and H.B. 1040. (Note that these bills also touch upon issues that are outside our focus.)
It’s exciting to see how the concern of parents over what their children are being taught in public schools is resulting in curriculum transparency bills being introduced in nearly every state. We are reviewing these critical bills and will have more updates and action alerts in the very near future.
Protecting innocent families in child abuse and neglect investigations. This remains one of our highest priorities. In Pennsylvania, we are working with a coalition from across the political spectrum to stop H.B. 1737, a bill that would allow CPS to seek a court order to compel mandatory drug or alcohol testing of a parent, if just an allegation—even an anonymous allegation—is raised against a parent stating that impairment due to drug or alcohol use is a contributing cause of alleged abuse or neglect. This will expand the power of CPS officials in PA to upend families and is contrary to a recent Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision on this very issue. ParentalRights.org president Will Estrada sent a letter to Pennsylvania senators, urging them to oppose the bill, joining with a wide array of other organizations—including the ACLU of Pennsylvania.
And we worked with a coalition of like-minded organizations to oppose a recent policy change in Texas that will make it harder for Texas parents to seek the support of “advocacy organizations, such as parent rights advocates and homeschool coalitions” when they are being investigated for alleged child abuse or neglect. (Yes, the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services actually singled out parent-rights advocates and homeschoolers!) You can read the letter that the Parental Rights Foundation sent to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services here.
This is just a snapshot of what we’ve been doing in recent weeks. ParentalRights.org has also been working in over a dozen other states and at the federal level to provide technical assistance and background information as bills are being drafted. We’re excited that state and federal legislators and their staff, as well as policy makers across the nation, are seeking out our expertise as they draft bills affecting parental rights. It’s because of you that we are able to work coast to coast on parental rights issues, and we are grateful for you.
We encourage you to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for up-to-the-minute updates on what we are doing to protect children by empowering parents. And share this email with any family and friends you know who share your concern for parental rights!
Sincerely,
Michael Ramey
Executive Director