I 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 8767 
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 2, 2022 
Mr. GOOD of Virginia (for himself, Mrs. MILLER of Illinois, Mr. WEBER of 
Texas, Mrs. GREENE of Georgia, and Mr. GOSAR) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 
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 Representa-
tives 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, fa-
ther, and child is the foundation of civil society. 
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(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 es-
poused by the founding fathers for the Federal Gov-
ernment to supersede State or local authorities re-
garding the instruction and testing of students. 
(9) Taxpayers have a right to know what pub-
licly funded schools are teaching students. 
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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 rad-
ical gender theory or sexually explicit content; 
(D) require a biological woman to compete 
against a biological man in an athletic competi-
tion hosted or sponsored by such school; 
(E) require a biological woman and a bio-
logical man to share a private facility, includ-
ing— 
(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 con-
sent 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; 
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(2) a covered school should— 
(A) protect the personal information of 
every student, as required under section 444 of 
the General Education Provisions Act (com-
monly 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 meet-
ings; 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, af-
firm, adhere to, or profess— 
(A) racial discrimination theory; or 
(B) an idea, where such compulsion vio-
lates title IV or title VI of the Civil Rights Act 
of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000c et seq.); 
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(2) compel a student to observe or espouse ob-
scene 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 as-
sociated 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 stu-
dent; 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 sec-
tion may be construed to prohibit a teacher or a student 
from discussing public policy issues or matters of public 
debate. 
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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 cov-
ered 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 in-
junctive 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 par-
ent commences a civil action under subsection (a), the At-
torney General shall have the exclusive authority to over-
see, 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. 
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(2) BIOLOGICAL
SEX.—The term ‘‘biological 
sex’’ means the sex recognized on the date of birth 
of the individual based on the genetic and reproduc-
tive 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) RACIAL
DISCRIMINATION
THEORY.—The 
term ‘‘racial discrimination theory’’ means a theory 
that promotes one or more of the following: 
(A) That racial oppression is based exclu-
sively on race, ethnicity, color, national origin, 
or a combination of such attributes. 
(B) That individuals of a certain race, eth-
nicity, color, or national origin are inherently 
superior or inferior to individuals of a different 
race, ethnicity, color, or national origin. 
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(C) That an individual should be treated 
adversely or advantageously based on the race, 
ethnicity, color, or national origin of such indi-
vidual. 
(D) That individuals, based on race, eth-
nicity, color, or national origin, bear collective 
guilt and are inherently responsible for actions 
committed in the past by individuals of the 
same race, ethnicity, color, or national origin. 
(6) 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. 
(7) PARENT.—The term ‘‘parent’’ has the 
meaning given such term in section 8101 of the Ele-
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mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 7801). 
Æ 
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