A Federal “Parents Bill of Rights”

Last week, the United States House of Representatives passed the “Parents Bill of Rights Act.” When the bill was first introduced, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said,

We want the parents to be empowered. And that’s what we’re doing today – that you have a say in your kids’ education, not government.

If McCarthy and other Republicans really wanted government to “butt out of kids’ education,” they wouldn’t even consider bills such as this. Instead, they would call for the complete abolition of government schools.

The Parents Bill of Rights Act might give parents a little more voice in their child’s education, but the majority of parents will still be sending their children to government schools. At the end of the day, the government, not parents, will be making decisions about curriculum and textbooks.

McCarthy listed “five pillars” of the bill:

• The right to know what’s being taught
• For parents to be heard
• The right to see school budgets
• The right to protect a child’s privacy
• The right to be updated about violence at the school

Nothing is said about the most important right of all: the moral right of each individual to live as he chooses, so long as he respects the rights of others to do the same. This includes the right to choose which school one’s child attends, rather than the school the government assigns a child to. It includes the right to choose how one’s money is spent, rather than having one’s money forcibly taken to support government schools.

Republicans are doing nothing more than tweaking how the government is involved in education. Despite all of their rhetoric, they are doing nothing to restore educational freedom.