CONGRESSMAN GOOD INTRODUCES THE EMPOWERING PARENTS ACT

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Bob Good (R-VA) introduced the Empowering Parents Act to ensure schools focus on education not indoctrination. The bill would recognize a private right of action for parents to sue taxpayer-funded public schools.

“President Biden confirmed in his prime-time campaign speech recently what we have known since he took office, that his administration believes that the greatest threat to America is Americans. In 2021, Biden’s Attorney General enlisted the FBI to investigate parents as ‘domestic terrorists’ for speaking up at school board meetings. Parents aren’t the threat. The real threat to the future of our education system comes when woke school administrators force factually-bankrupt curriculum and gender-confusing ideology on our innocent children rather than focusing on the basics of education. The Empowering Parents Act gives parents the legal ability to hold schools accountable,” said Congressman Good.

Congressman Good’s bill was introduced the week that the National Assessment of Educational Progress announced in its “Nation’s Report Card” that the average scores for reading and math fell between 2020 and 2022 to a level not seen in two decades. The report found that the steepest declines were found in the students who were already behind going into the COVID lockouts as well as in minority communities.

“For too long the public school system has undermined parental involvement in education decisions. The union-driven COVID policies in our schools served as a wakeup call for many parents, and school board across the country have tried to stop them from raising their voices in protest. The Empowering Parents Act will change the balance of power, so parents can rightfully have a say in what their children are being taught in the public school system,” said Congressman Good.

Specifically, the Empowering Parents Act ensures parents can sue if school districts force teachers or students to accommodate critical race theory curriculum, compel students to observe obscene or sexual material without parental consent, use pronoun changes without parental consent, violate student privacy without parental consent, or neglect to report sexual assault or harassment on school property. Guaranteeing a private right of action will ensure public schools are held accountable for the attempted indoctrination of the next generation of Americans.

“No child should be subject to read, observe, or participate in public school curriculum which encourages them to accept woke gender ideologies, to view explicit sexual material, or to “learn” divisive critical race theory,” said Congressman Good.

Co-Sponsors (4): Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL), Rep. Randy Weber (R-TX), Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), and Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ).