In Defense of Parents

Floor Speech

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Mr. McCORMICK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in defense of parents who have the right to guide their child's education and to know what is being taught in the classroom.

This body will soon vote on a great piece of legislation, H.R. 5, the Parental Bill of Rights. This bill puts parents in the driver's seat and makes students the priority, not bureaucrats or administrators.

It is hard to imagine who would fight against parental rights and school choice, but just the other day, Democratic legislators in my home State of Georgia were trying to stop several successful bills that expand education options for families.

Shockingly, their reasoning was that low-income families are too uneducated and poor to have a say over their own children's schooling.

If you don't believe me, here are the exact words of Georgia's 67th House District Representative just last week: ``. . . they,'' meaning the parents, ``are already in the lower 25th percentile, meaning a lot of those parents did not finish high school, cannot direct, and could not finish their own education.''

She continues: ``I am extremely concerned that we would put money in their hands, that entire piece of life in the hands of parents who are not qualified to make those decisions.''

Well, I think that is nonsense. The vast majority of Americans--moms and dads and teachers and students--know that is nonsense.

History is littered by governments who thought they knew better, and that people and parents did not know better, much to the detriment of that culture and the ultimate failure of that government.

That is why I am offering two amendments to the Parental Bill of Rights. The first one establishes the right of parents to be informed about, and consent to, participation in any non-curriculum events or activities.

We already do this for things that government schools deem important like field trips, gifted programs, individual education plans, and free and reduced lunches. I believe that parents' rights do not end at the discretion of the administration.

Unfortunately, in recent years, some school systems have used the classroom as a bully pulpit to push social engineering instead of learning environments. This is not a partisan issue, and this has got to stop. The way it stops is keeping parents informed of what happens at school.

My other amendment guarantees parents the opportunity to address their school boards regarding any violation of their rights. As we have seen too often across the country, concerned moms and dads have been silenced, thrown out, or threatened when standing up for their children. This is unacceptable.

Families need accountability in their schools and a place to make their voices heard. Fortunately, from Georgia to Virginia, from Texas to Idaho, and yes, even from California to New York, we are beginning to put students over systems and the people over a government, just like the Constitution intended.

This revolution of school choice and parental rights will help millions of families across America, and we are just getting started.

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