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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5327 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5327

To establish a private right of action for parents with respect to the 
 teaching of racial discrimination theory and other actions by covered 
                    schools, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 1, 2023

    Mr. Good of Virginia (for himself, Mrs. Miller of Illinois, Mr. 
   LaMalfa, and Mr. Biggs) introduced the following bill; which was 
        referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
To establish a private right of action for parents with respect to the 
 teaching of racial discrimination theory and other actions by covered 
                    schools, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Empowering Parents Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The family unit consisting of a mother, father, and 
        child is the foundation of civil society.
            (2) The rights and authority of parents are God-given and 
        self-evident.
            (3) The rights and authority of parents do not derive from 
        the government.
            (4) The rights and authority of parents should not be 
        challenged or undermined by the government, but must be 
        preserved and protected.
            (5) Parents are responsible for impressing faith, morals, 
        and values upon their children; such responsibility does not 
        belong to teachers, school board members, or politicians.
            (6) No teacher, school board member, or public official has 
        the right to politicize or indoctrinate children.
            (7) More than 70 percent of citizens of the United States 
        support the ability of parents to choose where students attend 
        school.
            (8) It is contrary to the 10th Amendment of the 
        Constitution and the principles of federalism espoused by the 
        founding fathers for the Federal Government to supersede State 
        or local authorities regarding the instruction and testing of 
        students.
            (9) Taxpayers have a right to know what publicly funded 
        schools are teaching students.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) a covered school should not--
                    (A) deny a student the ability to attend school in 
                person;
                    (B) intentionally expose a student to racial 
                discrimination theory;
                    (C) intentionally expose a student to radical 
                gender theory or sexually explicit content;
                    (D) require a biological woman to compete against a 
                biological man in an athletic competition hosted or 
                sponsored by such school;
                    (E) require a biological woman and a biological man 
                to share a private facility, including--
                            (i) a restroom;
                            (ii) a locker room;
                            (iii) a shower facility; or
                            (iv) a changing room; or
                    (F) require a student to abide by a health mandate 
                without first obtaining parental consent or require, as 
                a prerequisite for in-person school attendance--
                            (i) wearing a mask;
                            (ii) receiving a COVID-19 vaccine; or
                            (iii) subjecting to a medical screening;
            (2) a covered school should--
                    (A) protect the personal information of every 
                student, as required under section 444 of the General 
                Education Provisions Act (commonly known as the 
                ``Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974'' ) 
                (20 U.S.C. 1232g); and
                    (B) be parent-led and locally managed with State 
                oversight;
            (3) Federal law enforcement agencies should not target a 
        parent for exercising First Amendment rights on school property 
        or in school board meetings; and
            (4) a parent should have the ability to choose the school 
        that the children of such parent attend.

SEC. 4. PROHIBITIONS.

    (a) In General.--A covered school may not--
            (1) compel a teacher or student to adopt, affirm, adhere 
        to, or profess--
                    (A) any academic discipline, program, or activity 
                that is premised on the idea that--
                            (i) the United States is a Nation founded 
                        on White supremacy and oppression, or that 
                        these forces are at the root of American 
                        society;
                            (ii) one race or sex is inherently superior 
                        to another race or sex;
                            (iii) the United States is fundamentally 
                        racist or sexist;
                            (iv) an individual, by virtue of his or her 
                        race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist, or 
                        oppressive, whether consciously or 
                        unconsciously;
                            (v) an individual should be discriminated 
                        against or receive adverse treatment solely or 
                        partly because of his or her race or sex;
                            (vi) members of one race or sex cannot and 
                        should not attempt to treat others without 
                        respect to race or sex;
                            (vii) an individual's moral character is 
                        necessarily determined by his or her race or 
                        sex;
                            (viii) an individual, by virtue of his or 
                        her race or sex, bears responsibility for 
                        actions committed in the past by other members 
                        of the same race or sex;
                            (ix) any individual should feel discomfort, 
                        guilt, anguish, or any other form of 
                        psychological distress on account of his or her 
                        race or sex; or
                            (x) meritocracy or traits such as a hard 
                        work ethic are racist or sexist, or were 
                        created by a particular race to oppress another 
                        race; or
                    (B) an idea, where such compulsion violates title 
                IV or title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 
                U.S.C. 2000c et seq.);
            (2) compel a student to observe or espouse obscene or 
        sexual materials without the consent of a parent of such 
        student;
            (3) instruct or require an employee of such school to refer 
        to a student using a pronoun not associated with the biological 
        sex of such student, without obtaining consent to do so from a 
        parent of such student;
            (4) act as the agent of a parent of a student enrolled in 
        such school, for purposes of--
                    (A) providing verifiable parental consent; or
                    (B) receiving a notice or other information 
                required to be provided to a parent of such student; or
            (5) neglect to report sexual assault or sexual harassment 
        on school property to the appropriate law enforcement 
        authorities.
    (b) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section may be construed 
to prohibit a teacher or a student from discussing public policy issues 
or matters of public debate.

SEC. 5. PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.

    (a) In General.--A parent aggrieved by a violation of section 4 may 
commence a civil action against the covered school responsible for the 
violation.
    (b) Relief.--In any action under subsection (a), the court may 
award appropriate relief, including--
            (1) temporary, preliminary, or permanent injunctive relief;
            (2) compensatory damages;
            (3) punitive or exemplary damages; and
            (4) reasonable fees for attorneys.
    (c) Statute of Limitations.--An action under this section shall be 
brought not later than 30 days after the date on which the violation of 
section 4 occurred.
    (d) Attorney General.--In a case in which a parent commences a 
civil action under subsection (a), the Attorney General shall have the 
exclusive authority to oversee, as appropriate, any investigation 
conducted by the Federal Government in connection with such action.

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Biological man.--The term ``biological man'' means an 
        individual who is recognized as a male on the date of the birth 
        of such individual, based on the genetic and reproductive 
        biological characteristics of such individual.
            (2) Biological sex.--The term ``biological sex'' means the 
        sex recognized on the date of birth of the individual based on 
        the genetic and reproductive biological characteristics of such 
        individual.
            (3) Biological woman.--The term ``biological woman'' means 
        an individual who is recognized as a female on the date of the 
        birth of such individual, based on the genetic and reproductive 
        biological characteristics of such individual.
            (4) Covered school.--The term ``covered school'' means an 
        elementary school or secondary school, as such terms are 
        defined in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary 
        Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
            (5) Obscene material.--The term ``obscene material'' means 
        material that, considered as a whole--
                    (A) appeals to--
                            (i) the prurient interest; or
                            (ii) a shameful or morbid interest in 
                        nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, 
                        excretory functions or products thereof, or 
                        sadomasochistic abuse;
                    (B) goes substantially beyond customary limits of 
                candor in description or representation of the matters 
                described in clause (A)(ii); and
                    (C) does not have serious literary, artistic, 
                political, or scientific value.
            (6) Parent.--The term ``parent'' has the meaning given such 
        term in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
        Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
                                 <all>
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