Texas Governor Greg Abbott has proposed a “Parental Bill of Rights” to protect families from the increasingly partisan education system.
The bill says that it will “amend the Texas Constitution to make clear that parents are the primary decision-makers in all matters involving their children.”
Abbott announced his effort during a re-election campaign stop at a charter school in Lewisville last week.
“Abbott said the plan would expand parents’ access to school curriculum, make materials easily accessible online or other means, and reassure parents their concerns about school curriculum and policies are heard,” ABC 13 reports.
The legislation would also protect students from obscene material being provided to them in school. Educators who violate this policy will be barred from teaching in the state.
“Texas will ensure that any educational personnel who was convicted of providing minors with obscene content will lose their educational credentials and state licensing, forfeit their retirement benefits and be placed on a ‘do not hire list,” he said.
Additionally, parents will have a say in whether or not their children are held back.
“Texas will give parents the option to decide if their child should repeat a course or grade level instead of leaving that decision solely to the school district,” Abbott said.
“Texas parents have every right to know what their children are being taught,” Abbott said.
The bill has, naturally, outraged the left.
Shannon Holmes, executive director of The Association of Texas Professional Educators issued a statement saying “The so-called ‘Parental Bill of Rights’ wouldn’t give Texas parents any new rights. Every ‘issue’ is already addressed in existing state law and local policies. Instead, Gov. Abbott’s pledge to ‘bolster’ parent rights would only serve to place additional governmental mandates on school districts and teachers already stretched to their limits due to staffing shortages.”