Parents Bill of Rights Act
Floor Speech
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Mr. ROY. 5.
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Mr. ROY. Mr. Chair, I lend my thanks to the gentlewoman from North Carolina for her stewardship of the legislation we are addressing this week.
I am offering this amendment because I believe it is critically important for parents to have the ultimate say in the education of their children.
I first want to say that I support, as my colleague from Kentucky Mr. Massie does, eliminating the Department of Education altogether and leaving this to parents and the States.
Frankly, I would prefer to just block grant dollars to the States and give them full control in the absence of actually eliminating the Department of Education, which my next amendment will address. If we are going to be operating in this framework, then we might as well ensure that parents at least can have the benefit of dollars getting to them directly to be able to do as they see fit to educate their children.
The Parents Bill of Rights Act is designed to try to empower parents, give them the ability to see what their children are learning, see the curriculum. Despite the wailing and gnashing of teeth of our colleagues on the other side of the aisle with wild accusations of book banning-- which is completely inaccurate and devoid of fact--the fact is, we are trying to empower parents to be able to see what their children are learning.
My amendment, though, would give parents recourse by allowing them to take their tax dollars, the dollars that they send to Washington for a purpose, and put it towards the education of their choice.
Again, I would rather they not be laundering the money through this godforsaken town. I would rather that money go directly to the schools in their neighborhoods. If it is going to come here, I would like them to, at least, get the benefit of getting that money back to be able to use it to educate their children the way they believe is best for them.
I introduced this policy as a stand-alone bill called the SCHOOL Act in 2020 with my good friend, Senator Rand Paul, when parents' tax dollars were going to schools that closed their doors during the pandemic, that shut kids out of schools, that forced them into the corners with masks.
The results of that have been catastrophic. Twenty-three Baltimore schools have zero students proficient in math per State test results. Chicago Democrats are sounding the alarm on 55 schools reporting no proficiency in math or reading.
These are very serious concerns. In 2022, the National Center for Education Statistics evaluated the progress of children during the pandemic and revealed reading ability had suffered the largest decline since 1990.
To my colleagues who say that this defunds schools, first off, whose dollars are these anyway?
They are the American people's dollars. This government takes dollars and then does stuff with it.
We want to make sure that parents can use their dollars the way they feel is best for the education of their kids. We are returning to the families their money, so they have greater flexibility to provide the best possible education for their kids.
Mr. Chair, that is the goal of this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. ROY. Mr. Chair, I would just add a couple of responses to my friend, the gentleman from Virginia.
Both of us are graduates of the University of Virginia. I am an extraordinarily proud graduate of Virginia, where Thomas Jefferson, frankly, helped frame the public diffusion of knowledge, as the gentleman knows, in trying to set up a structure for public schools in order to have broader access for more Americans and give them the ability and the benefits of public education.
I was public school educated K through law school, as was my wife, raised by a single mom. We went to Texas A&M University and the University of Texas School of Law, where we met. I am a big proponent of the public education system. I am a bigger proponent of empowering parents. I am a bigger proponent of being able to have checks and balances within the education system and allowing parents the ability to take care of their kids.
That is what this is about. When we talk about homeschooling, the purpose here is, you have got parents who are left on the outside looking in while the public school system has abandoned them during the pandemic, and they had to go do something about it.
They are abandoning them now by not providing them the proficiency of education as I just talked about in Baltimore and Chicago and in schools across the country.
To say that we should restrict parents from being able to use those dollars in private schools. Say that to the hardworking parents today scraping by to send $6,000, $7,000, $8,000, $9,000 to a Catholic school because that parent wants the best education for their child. I say let's actually empower parents. That is what this whole debate is about this week. That is why I offered this amendment.
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Mr. ROY. Mr. Chair, my time is limited, and the gentleman has the right to close this out.
I would just say that we should have a robust debate about that.
This is very limited, as the gentleman pointed out. It is Title I money under the ESEA, so this would be limited in the total economic impact. I think it is just a nice way to give some dollars to parents to be able to go take care of their children.
Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
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Mr. ROY. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.
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Mr. ROY. Mr. Chair, again, I thank the gentlewoman from North Carolina for her efforts this week and her efforts and devotion to education, generally, in her career.
I am offering this amendment because I believe that we should be empowering States and local schools in communities to be able to take care of our kids. I don't think the Federal Government has any business in this area for the most part. I don't believe the Department of Education should exist in the first place.
When I look at Article I, Section 8, I don't see anything about education. From my standpoint--and I believe it is a sentiment shared by many on my side of the aisle, and I have heard many of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle bemoaning Federal intervention this week--so let's just call the question then.
If we have concerns about Federal intervention into State affairs, then let's take the dollars and let's block grant them back to the States.
Now, my friend, Mr. Massie, has a sense of Congress that we should abolish the Department of Education, which I fully support. But if we have true concerns here, to my Democratic colleagues who are concerned about, oh, my gosh, heaven forbid that we have parents be able to see what is in the curriculum. This is too much Federal intervention.
How about we look at overall Federal intervention, in general, and let's block grant those dollars to States and allow State governments, local communities, local school boards and parents to make all the decisions?
We will just take care of your problem right now.
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Mr. ROY. Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Brecheen).
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Mr. ROY. Mr. Chair, I thank my friend from Oklahoma for his support of the amendment. I agree with every word that he just shared with the body.
I would just note, again, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have been raising a lot of concerns that my side of the aisle is inserting the Federal Government into the business of the States and localities.
Look, I will acknowledge, I don't love going down this road. I don't think we should have to. I think this should all be left to the States, and if the folks in California, the folks in New York, the folks in some State want to put this garbage in front of their kids, then let them hash that out.
As long as we are going to have the Federal Government inserting itself, which this body led predominated by my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, have been pushing now for years, at a bare minimum, shouldn't we ensure that parents have the ability to see what is in the curriculum, parents know what books are in the library?
That is the debate this week. What we are trying to do with this amendment is essentially call the bluff of my Democratic colleagues. Put your money where your mouth is.
If you don't like the fact that the Federal Government is involved in education, welcome to the party. Let's give the money right back to the States and local governments where they can do what is best for the people in their States and local communities.
Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
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Mr. ROY. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.
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