Providing for Consideration of H.R. Further Extending Government Funding Act; and for Other Purposes

Floor Speech

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Ms. LETLOW. Mr. Speaker, I rise to oppose the previous question so we can immediately take up H.R. 6056, the Parents Bill of Rights Act.

As a mom of two and a former educator, I can tell you from firsthand experience that education is not something that can happen without parents playing a role. The learning process requires both sides to work together and have collaborative partnerships that ensure a student's success.

Parents should not have a system of values and beliefs forced on their children or send them to school while fearing indoctrination by a political agenda. The idea that government can exclude parents and have total control of the classroom will never work because it ignores the simple truth that these are our children, not the government's.

The Parents Bill of Rights Act puts safeguards in place that ensure that the foundation of education is built on a meaningful dialogue between a family and their child's school. This bill has five core principles that are designed to create mutually beneficial partnerships and lead to greater collaboration.

Those five principles are: one, parents have the right to review their school's curriculum, reading materials, and State academic standards; two, parents have the right to lawfully engage with their local school board and educators; three, parents have the right to see a school's budget and spending, including detailed information about revenues and expenditures; four, parents have the right to protect their child's privacy; and, finally, parents have the right to keep their child safe and be updated on any violent activity at school.

The ideas contained in this bill are not partisan or polarizing; they are simple and common sense. In my home State of Louisiana, a similar parents bill of rights passed with broad support from both Republicans and Democrats, and I hope we can follow suit here in Congress.

Several weeks ago, Louisiana's State Superintendent of Education, Dr. Cade Brumley, wrote about how family involvement is critical for educational success. He said: ``It takes a family to raise a child. Schools exist to support that effort with a responsibility to provide a quality education in a safe environment.''

Mr. Speaker, we have the opportunity today in this body to take a step forward for America's families, and I hope my colleagues across the aisle will join us in that effort.

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