I 

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. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Empowering Parents 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The family unit consisting of a mother, fa9 ther, and child is the foundation of civil society. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
2 

•HR 5327 IH

1 (2) The rights and authority of parents are 

2 God-given and self-evident. 

3 (3) The rights and authority of parents do not 

4 derive from the government. 

5 (4) The rights and authority of parents should 

6 not be challenged or undermined by the government, 

7 but must be preserved and protected. 

8 (5) Parents are responsible for impressing 

9 faith, morals, and values upon their children; such 

10 responsibility does not belong to teachers, school 

11 board members, or politicians. 

12 (6) No teacher, school board member, or public 

13 official has the right to politicize or indoctrinate 

14 children. 

15 (7) More than 70 percent of citizens of the 

16 United States support the ability of parents to 

17 choose where students attend school. 

18 (8) It is contrary to the 10th Amendment of 

19 the Constitution and the principles of federalism es20 poused by the founding fathers for the Federal Gov21 ernment to supersede State or local authorities re22 garding the instruction and testing of students. 

23 (9) Taxpayers have a right to know what pub24 licly funded schools are teaching students. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
3 

•HR 5327 IH

1 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

2 It is the sense of Congress that— 

3 (1) a covered school should not— 

4 (A) deny a student the ability to attend 

5 school in person; 

6 (B) intentionally expose a student to racial 

7 discrimination theory; 

8 (C) intentionally expose a student to rad9 ical gender theory or sexually explicit content; 

10 (D) require a biological woman to compete 

11 against a biological man in an athletic competi12 tion hosted or sponsored by such school; 

13 (E) require a biological woman and a bio14 logical man to share a private facility, includ15 ing— 

16 (i) a restroom; 

17 (ii) a locker room; 

18 (iii) a shower facility; or 

19 (iv) a changing room; or 

20 (F) require a student to abide by a health 

21 mandate without first obtaining parental con22 sent or require, as a prerequisite for in-person 

23 school attendance— 

24 (i) wearing a mask; 

25 (ii) receiving a COVID–19 vaccine; or 

26 (iii) subjecting to a medical screening; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
4 

•HR 5327 IH

1 (2) a covered school should— 

2 (A) protect the personal information of 

3 every student, as required under section 444 of 

4 the General Education Provisions Act (com5 monly known as the ‘‘Family Educational 

6 Rights and Privacy Act of 1974’’ ) (20 U.S.C. 

7 1232g); and 

8 (B) be parent-led and locally managed with 

9 State oversight; 

10 (3) Federal law enforcement agencies should 

11 not target a parent for exercising First Amendment 

12 rights on school property or in school board meet13 ings; and 

14 (4) a parent should have the ability to choose 

15 the school that the children of such parent attend. 

16 SEC. 4. PROHIBITIONS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—A covered school may not— 

18 (1) compel a teacher or student to adopt, af19 firm, adhere to, or profess— 

20 (A) any academic discipline, program, or 

21 activity that is premised on the idea that— 

22 (i) the United States is a Nation 

23 founded on White supremacy and oppres24 sion, or that these forces are at the root of 

25 American society; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
5 

•HR 5327 IH

1 (ii) one race or sex is inherently supe2 rior to another race or sex; 

3 (iii) the United States is fundamen4 tally racist or sexist; 

5 (iv) an individual, by virtue of his or 

6 her race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist, 

7 or oppressive, whether consciously or un8 consciously; 

9 (v) an individual should be discrimi10 nated against or receive adverse treatment 

11 solely or partly because of his or her race 

12 or sex; 

13 (vi) members of one race or sex can14 not and should not attempt to treat others 

15 without respect to race or sex; 

16 (vii) an individual’s moral character is 

17 necessarily determined by his or her race 

18 or sex; 

19 (viii) an individual, by virtue of his or 

20 her race or sex, bears responsibility for ac21 tions committed in the past by other mem22 bers of the same race or sex; 

23 (ix) any individual should feel discom24 fort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
6 

•HR 5327 IH

1 psychological distress on account of his or 

2 her race or sex; or 

3 (x) meritocracy or traits such as a 

4 hard work ethic are racist or sexist, or 

5 were created by a particular race to op6 press another race; or 

7 (B) an idea, where such compulsion vio8 lates title IV or title VI of the Civil Rights Act 

9 of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000c et seq.); 

10 (2) compel a student to observe or espouse ob11 scene or sexual materials without the consent of a 

12 parent of such student; 

13 (3) instruct or require an employee of such 

14 school to refer to a student using a pronoun not as15 sociated with the biological sex of such student, 

16 without obtaining consent to do so from a parent of 

17 such student; 

18 (4) act as the agent of a parent of a student 

19 enrolled in such school, for purposes of— 

20 (A) providing verifiable parental consent; 

21 or 

22 (B) receiving a notice or other information 

23 required to be provided to a parent of such stu24 dent; or 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
7 

•HR 5327 IH

1 (5) neglect to report sexual assault or sexual 

2 harassment on school property to the appropriate 

3 law enforcement authorities. 

4 (b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec5 tion may be construed to prohibit a teacher or a student 

6 from discussing public policy issues or matters of public 

7 debate. 

8 SEC. 5. PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—A parent aggrieved by a violation 

10 of section 4 may commence a civil action against the cov11 ered school responsible for the violation. 

12 (b) RELIEF.—In any action under subsection (a), the 

13 court may award appropriate relief, including— 

14 (1) temporary, preliminary, or permanent in15 junctive relief; 

16 (2) compensatory damages; 

17 (3) punitive or exemplary damages; and 

18 (4) reasonable fees for attorneys. 

19 (c) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—An action under this 

20 section shall be brought not later than 30 days after the 

21 date on which the violation of section 4 occurred. 

22 (d) ATTORNEY GENERAL.—In a case in which a par23 ent commences a civil action under subsection (a), the At24 torney General shall have the exclusive authority to overVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:32 Sep 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5327.IH H5327

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
8 

•HR 5327 IH

1 see, as appropriate, any investigation conducted by the 

2 Federal Government in connection with such action. 

3 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this Act: 

5 (1) BIOLOGICAL MAN.—The term ‘‘biological 

6 man’’ means an individual who is recognized as a 

7 male on the date of the birth of such individual, 

8 based on the genetic and reproductive biological 

9 characteristics of such individual. 

10 (2) BIOLOGICAL SEX.—The term ‘‘biological 

11 sex’’ means the sex recognized on the date of birth 

12 of the individual based on the genetic and reproduc13 tive biological characteristics of such individual. 

14 (3) BIOLOGICAL WOMAN.—The term ‘‘biological 

15 woman’’ means an individual who is recognized as a 

16 female on the date of the birth of such individual, 

17 based on the genetic and reproductive biological 

18 characteristics of such individual. 

19 (4) COVERED SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘covered 

20 school’’ means an elementary school or secondary 

21 school, as such terms are defined in section 8101 of 

22 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

23 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
9 

•HR 5327 IH

1 (5) OBSCENE MATERIAL.—The term ‘‘obscene 

2 material’’ means material that, considered as a 

3 whole— 

4 (A) appeals to— 

5 (i) the prurient interest; or 

6 (ii) a shameful or morbid interest in 

7 nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, 

8 excretory functions or products thereof, or 

9 sadomasochistic abuse; 

10 (B) goes substantially beyond customary 

11 limits of candor in description or representation 

12 of the matters described in clause (A)(ii); and 

13 (C) does not have serious literary, artistic, 

14 political, or scientific value. 

15 (6) PARENT.—The term ‘‘parent’’ has the 

16 meaning given such term in section 8101 of the Ele17 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

18 U.S.C. 7801). 

Æ 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB