In July of 2023, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona addressed the American Federation of Teachers. In his remarks, he declared: 

“Colleagues, we have districts where one or two ideologues armed with megaphones and rich donors are overriding school librarians and educators with decades of experience in the name of parental rights. But it’s not parental rights, that’s not what this is. These are extremists working to whitewash history and censor educators, at the expense of our students!”

False. Completely make believe.

Significant decline in student performance and a lack of school attendance evidence critical issues with public education in the United States. According to the Nation’s Report Card, 13-year-old students scored significantly worse on their 2023 National Assessment for Educational Program (NAEP) reading and math assessments than three years before. In fact, scores have been declining since 2012. 

As parents became aware of curricula concentrated on racial victimhood and gender identity, their alarm led many to boldly expose inappropriate and activist-driven material. When teachers unions and education bureaucrats indoctrinate students with opinions instead of instructing them in matters of reading, writing, and mathematics, parents have the right to review curricula and voice their concerns. However, schools have levied outrageously high fees on parents interested in assessing classroom materials. 

Parents are also concerned that schools are crafting secretive Gender Support Plans and distributing invasive student surveys. When parents learn of such questionable practices and/or the dissemination of obscene material in school libraries and classrooms, they should feel compelled to inquire and, when necessary, take action to hold school employees accountable. Intent on championing gender ideology, school officials have suppressed information from parents of children desiring to “transition.” Such efforts represent an egregious overstep of educational power. Parents—not schools—reserve the right to counsel their children on these personal matters.

Contrary to Secretary Cardona’s remarks, parents have the responsibility and legal right to engage in public education and care about their children’s academic success. The Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA) allows parents to have their children forgo surveys questioning students on subjects like faith, sex, psychological issues, etc. In addition to federal measures, laws in 15 states directly address and protect parents’ rights to know what their children are learning in school.  Despite schools’ efforts to conceal information from parents, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) protects the parental right to access children’s academic records, regardless of a public school’s preferences. 

A parent should not feel attacked or ostracized for confronting educators’ choices in curriculum, spending, and school programming. Secretary Cardona’s statement against engaged parents simply reiterates the Department of Education’s desire to supersede parental involvement in children’s lives. By introducing the Given Name Act in their school districts, parents can require schools to consult parents and receive approval before referring to a student by a name or pronoun inconsistent with their birth certificate and biology. 

If schools fail to protect parental rights, families should have the option to enroll their student(s) in another public, private, or homeschool option with the assistance of an education freedom program. Understanding their children best, parents deserve transparency from school employees and the opportunity to judge whether schools are educating their children with age-appropriate and academically enriching material. 

To learn more about transparency, read this month’s Policy Focus: Transparency in Residentially-Assigned Schools.