Winning Defense: Stopping Bad Bills across the Nation

We talk a lot about good bills that we’re working on across the nation: legislation like our Parents’ Bill of Rights and fundamental parental rights bills that will strengthen the right of parents to raise, educate, and care for their children.

But thanks to your support of ParentalRights.org, we also work aggressively to stop bad bills that would erode the rights that we hold dear. 

Sometimes our work is overtly public, like the recent action alert we sent out nationwide, urging you to call your US Representative and two US Senators to oppose language that would create a federal database of college students and college graduates. (And now that Congress has returned from their Easter and Passover recess, we urge you to call your federal representatives again!) 

But sometimes our work is behind the scenes. Just a few hours before I stopped to write you this update, I was on a lengthy Zoom meeting with my colleagues from HSLDA and MACHE, as well as others in the state of Minnesota, to try to stop a MN bill that would have allowed social workers to interview children at school, without telling their parents, if the social worker thought it necessary. This violates the US Constitution’s Fourth Amendment. But without our work behind the scenes, this could have easily passed. I’m pleased to tell you that the dangerous language was stripped out of the bill, and we’re monitoring it so that it is not put back in during the legislative process.

Another bill we defeated through behind-the-scenes work was a dangerous curriculum transparency bill in Ohio that inexplicably would have required private schools and homeschools to publish their curriculum. We’re all for curriculum transparency for public schools, which are funded through our taxpayer dollars. Parents should know what their children are being taught in public schools. But private schools and homeschools should be free from governmental mandates requiring them to disclose their curriculum. That’s a fight worth having. 

And, we were able to defeat a dangerous grandparent visitation bill in West Virginia that would have stripped rights away from parents. I know firsthand the incredible blessing that grandparents can be in their children’s life. My wife recently lost her dad to a heart attack, and her mom to COVID-19. Their passing has left a hole in our family and in our kids’ lives that will not be filled on this side of eternity. I’m grateful to still have my mom and dad with us, and to see the love that they have for their grandkids, my two boys. But not all grandparents are like these, and we must never forget that state law must protect parental rights. I’m glad that the West Virginia legislature recognized its duty under the Constitutions of the state of West Virginia and of the United States, and that this bill has been stopped for this year.

These highlights are just a sampling of how ParentalRights.org protects your God-given right to raise your children by standing against dangerous legislation. Much of the credit must go to our dedicated volunteers and supporters in all 50 states who are the boots on the ground in our efforts. Without them—and you—I can say with confidence that we would not be celebrating these victories right now.

Gratefully yours,

Will Estrada

President
ParentalRights.org