The most bipartisan time of the year in Washington, DC, is upon us: cherry blossom season! Republican and Democratic residents of the city both grumble about the hordes of tourists that the blooming trees lure to the district. But you’ll also find both sides taking lunch breaks by the tidal basin, sampling the cherry blossom–themed drinks around town, and filling their Instagram stories with posts featuring the district’s famous pink flowers.
While every denizen of Washington, DC, can unite around the cherry blossoms, it’s another story for politics on Capitol Hill. There, it’s parental rights season—or so it would seem, with the introduction of two major pieces of legislation centered on the issue.
The first is one that you are probably familiar with, as our friends at ParentalRights.org have been championing it for many years: The Parental Rights Amendment (House Joint Resolution 38) was reintroduced by Congresswoman Debbie Lesko (AZ-08) earlier this month. At the time of writing this newsletter, the resolution already has seven cosponsors. H.J. Res. 38 would amend the Constitution to enshrine the fact that parents have a fundamental right to direct the upbringing, education, and care of their children. It’s a right that the Supreme Court has upheld numerous times, but the actions of various government entities in recent years have proved that the court’s opinion is not enough. The amendment would give parental rights much-needed further legal protection.
The second bill has no relation to homeschooling, but as it’s one of the House Republicans’ signature bills this year, it’s worth being aware of it. House Resolution 5, the Parents Bill of Rights, was introduced by Congresswoman Julia Letlow (LA-05) and has the full support of Speaker Kevin McCarthy and House leadership. If passed, H.R. 5 would force public schools to be transparent about their curriculum and their budgets; the resolution would also affirm that parents have a right to speak at school board meetings and a right to know about any violence that takes place in the schools. Additionally, the resolution requires schools to have parents’ consent for use of educational technology in the classroom and for any school medical examinations; it further states that any school that receives federal education funds must have parental consent before “changing a minor child’s gender markers, pronouns, or preferred name on any school form; or allowing the child to change the child’s sex-based accommodations, including locker rooms or bathrooms.”
While the resolution would not directly affect homeschool families, it’s an important sign of where Congress stands on the issue of parental rights. Historically, House Bills 1 through 10 are used to showcase the legislature’s top priorities—so with H.R. 5, House leadership is recognizing the critical nationwide battle over the rights of parents in the education sphere.
Parental rights should be one of those rare bipartisan issues—and for normal, local, everyday families, it is. But at the federal level, it’s a divisive issue: on one side stand those who support bills that protect those parental rights and freedoms. On the other are those who believe bills like these will let Congress dictate what curriculum schools can use, or will lead to the devaluing of teachers.
We at HSLDA Action know that families from every walk of life care about their right and freedom as parents to raise their children and provide the education best suited for their students' needs. These policies put control back into the hands of parents. No matter what education method a family chooses—be it homeschooling, private schooling, or public schooling—it’s parents who should be the ultimate decision maker for how a child is brought up.