Recently, a San Diego County school district approved a parental bill of rights, potentially serving as a model for other state schools to resist Sacramento politicians who promote withholding information from parents about their children. One of the rights detailed by Lakeside Union School District requires parents to be notified of “official or unofficial district actions relating to academic achievement, bullying, suicidal intent, and sexual transitioning” – the last of which outraged LGBT+ proponents. The board unanimously approved this set of principles last Thursday, from which specific policies will be crafted in the coming weeks.
The push for this parental rights statement comes after Spreckels Union School District in Monterey County paid $100,000 to settle a lawsuit last year after a child was secretly convinced by three school employees that she was bisexual and transgender, and kept that information from her mother. The mother rightfully argued that the school district’s actions violated her 14th Amendment right to direct her child’s upbringing.
Unfortunately, incidents like these are taking place all across the state, likely with only a fraction of them coming to light. Clearly, California’s school districts need to establish policies protecting the legal rights parents have to oversee the lives of their children. Lakeside’s parental rights principles are a fantastic model for other districts to follow.
“My job is to represent my constituents – not be a rubber stamp for policies from Sacramento politicians and bureaucrats that intend to erode the rights of parents to have additional say in their children’s lives and education,” Board President Andrew Hayes said in a statement.
The Lakeside Union School District Parental Bill of Rights includes the following areas:
- Public listing and disclosure of all curricula.
- Parent advisory committees to review and make recommendations regarding parental notification, student privacy matters, and selection and implementation of curriculum and supplemental instructional materials.
- Detailing of age-appropriateness of library books, ensuring parents’ ability to restrict their child’s access to objectionable books.
- Parents’ ability to “opt-out” of what they deem to be inappropriate topics including sex education.
- Notification of official or unofficial district actions related to bullying, suicidal intent, sexual transitioning, and academic achievement.
- Parental notification of state-mandated or district-initiated modifications to restroom and locker room facilities which impact children’s privacy.
- Parental written approval for administering all medications or medical treatments from cold medicines to insulin.
“Parents have a right to know what’s going on in their children’s lives,” said Greg Burt, Vice President of the California Family Council. “Parents do not forfeit these rights just because they send their child to a public school. We hope to see more California school districts adopt similar policies that protect and maintain parents’ god-given rights to direct the upbringing of their children.”
