Parents gain new weapon against schools hiding student gender transitions

FIRST ON FOX: Parental rights advocates are rallying behind a new bill being introduced by Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., which would give parents more power if schools violate a federal law meant to grant them access to their kids’ school records, and in some cases control what their kids are exposed to in the classroom.

Hageman’s “Parental Rights Relief Act,” introduced this week, would allow parents a private right of action, or in other words, the ability to sue in civil court over violations of federal law that permits them access to certain K-12 school materials, including surveys, questionnaires, and evaluations on sensitive topics. The law also grants parents the right to opt their kids out of certain instruction, but has limitations as well when it comes to compelling schools or school districts to hand over curricular materials to parents.  

“We have seen schools that are blatantly, intentionally, and aggressively violating parents’ and students’ rights,” Hageman told Fox News Digital, adding that past administrations have failed to hold schools and school districts accountable under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA). Each of these laws, established in the 70’s, have been cited in efforts to intervene when parents are not allowed access to certain curricular materials, or are not provided the opportunity to opt their children out of certain instruction on sensitive topics.

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In Milwaukee, conservative nonprofits attempted to hold the public school district there accountable for letting kids, without any parental consent, indicate in school evaluations if they wanted to be referred to by pronouns different than those associated with their birth gender. The district was subsequently accused of trying to secretly transition students without their parents’ knowledge. According to parental rights group Defending Education, over a thousand school districts across the country “have adopted policies to hide gender transitions at school from parents,” as of their count in February.

Meanwhile, in Connecticut’s Windsor Public Schools, parents highlighted federal law when they were denied access to their district’s “Social-Emotional Learning” curriculum being taught to their kids. Other examples of FERPA and the PPRA being invoked include when schools fail to offer any, or adequate, opt-out options to parents for student surveys involving sensitive questions, such as about sexuality and gender identity.

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“All my bill is trying to do is enforce one aspect of federal law that I believe that the Department of Education has really attempted to avoid,” Hageman told Fox News Digital. “They slow walk the investigations when parents complain about not being able to access the curriculum. They refuse to investigate when the parents say their children have been indoctrinated – claiming that he’s a girl, or she’s a boy – and they are not following – they being the federal Department of Education – is not following the law in terms of FERPA and the PPRA.”

Fox News Digital reached out to numerous Democrats and left-leaning education leaders, including the American Federation of teachers and the National Education Association, for comment on Hageman’s new “Parental Rights Relief Act” but did not receive any responses in time for publication.

In addition to giving parents a private right of action under FERPA and PPRA violations, Hageman’s bill would also establish a review board to investigate, review and adjudicate complaints under these federal laws, which must be addressed within a 90-day timeframe.

The private right of action is only eligible for students under 18, and allows parents to refrain from having to exhaust all other administrative remedies before going to court. A court may permit the Attorney General to intervene in a civil action brought forward under this bill, if it is deemed appropriate.