Parents Bill of Rights Act

Floor Speech

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Mrs. McCLELLAN. Mr. Chair, I rise today in strong opposition to H.R. 5.

I am the mother of two young children who you saw stand with me in this very Chamber 2 weeks ago, and I have near-daily conversations with the parents in my district about their hopes and concerns. I can assure you, they have a seat at the table in the school room, and they are not concerned with banning books, censoring our curriculum, or dictating what bathrooms students use.

Parents want increased resources for mental and behavioral health services, inclusive school environments that foster critical thinking and learning, and more funding to repair outdated and crumbling school buildings and address security issues.

They want their children to learn a complete and accurate history of our country and our world, and they want the peace of mind that their children are safe.

Three days after my son stood with me on this floor and watched me take the oath of office, one of his classmates shot himself accidentally with an unsecured gun, and he died. It was a devastating loss for our community.

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Mrs. McCLELLAN. It was a devastating loss for our community and the community at large. These are the issues that matter to parents as they deal with the mental fallout of that incident. These are the issues they are talking about.

H.R. 5 does nothing to address these priorities. It would create unnecessary reporting requirements and divert critical resources away from meeting the real needs of our students and families.

I urge our colleagues to vote ``no'' on the politics over parents act.

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