Title: A resolution supporting the right of parents to be the leading voice in the education of their children.
Policy area: Education

Summary:
This resolution supports parental involvement in decisions affecting the education of children.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 431 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 431

    Supporting the right of parents to be the leading voice in the 
                      education of their children.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 28, 2021

   Mr. Scott of Florida (for himself, Mr. Burr, Mrs. Hyde-Smith, Mr. 
   McConnell, Mr. Marshall, Ms. Lummis, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Johnson, Mr. 
Boozman, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Braun, Mr. Risch, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Tillis, Mr. 
    Graham, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. Tuberville, Mr. Hoeven, Mr. Moran, Mrs. 
Blackburn, Mrs. Fischer, Mr. Cramer, Mr. Lee, Mr. Cotton, Mr. Grassley, 
 Ms. Ernst, Mr. Scott of South Carolina, Mr. Barrasso, Mr. Wicker, Mr. 
Lankford, and Mr. Cornyn) submitted the following resolution; which was 
  referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
    Supporting the right of parents to be the leading voice in the 
                      education of their children.

Whereas parents are the first teachers of their children and have the inherent 
        and fundamental right to make decisions regarding the upbringing, 
        education, and care of their children;
Whereas parental involvement in the educational system contributes to a 
        collaborative environment with school administrators and teachers, which 
        enhances the educational outcomes of all students;
Whereas school board officials, school administrators, and teachers are public 
        servants, and parents are entitled to demand accountability from such 
        public servants for policies and actions that affect their children;
Whereas the public meetings of the school board in Loudoun County, Virginia, 
        have become emblematic of the increased engagement by concerned parents 
        across the United States with respect to school policies and educational 
        curricula impacting their children;
Whereas labor organizations representing teachers and school boards have begun 
        advocating that administrators and teachers should not listen to parents 
        who express concerns regarding such policies and curricula;
Whereas school administrators and school board officials have alarmingly 
        implemented policies designed--

    (1) to restrict parental involvement at public meetings;

    (2) to prohibit parental visitation with children during school hours; 
and

    (3) to limit parental input on policies and race-based curricula taught 
in the classroom;

Whereas, in a September 2021 letter to President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., the 
        National School Boards Association--

    (1) compared grassroots demonstrations and protests by concerned 
parents against harmful school policies and educational curricula affecting 
their children to ``domestic terrorism and hate crimes'' against school 
boards, administrators, and teachers; and

    (2) requested that the President use Federal law enforcement resources 
and legal authorities designed to address domestic terrorism, such as the 
authorities provided by the USA PATRIOT Act (Public Law 107-56; 115 Stat. 
272), to investigate and prosecute parents who protest against such 
policies and curricula;

Whereas, in response to such letter, United States Attorney General Merrick 
        Garland issued a memorandum, dated October 4, 2021, directing Federal 
        law enforcement resources to be used to discourage, investigate, and 
        prosecute parents engaged in such demonstrations and protests; and
Whereas parents should be at the forefront of the decisions affecting the 
        education and well-being of their children, and school boards, school 
        administrators, and teachers should work collaboratively with parents to 
        improve educational outcomes rather than treat parents as intruders in 
        the education of their children: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) supports the right of parents to be the leading voice 
        in the education of their children;
            (2) condemns threats and acts of violence against school 
        board officials, school administrators, and teachers;
            (3) denounces attempts by school board officials, school 
        administrators, and teachers to restrict parental involvement 
        in the development and implementation of school policies and 
        educational curricula affecting their children;
            (4) rejects the threatened or actual use of Federal or 
        State law enforcement resources to intimidate parents and 
        silence parental involvement in decisions affecting the 
        education of their children;
            (5) encourages schools and parents to enter into 
        constructive and open dialogue regarding school policies, 
        curricula, and instructional materials to improve the 
        educational outcomes of all students; and
            (6) demands Attorney General Merrick Garland rescind the 
        memorandum issued on October 4, 2021, that inappropriately 
        directs Federal law enforcement resources to be used against 
        parents advocating on behalf of their children against harmful 
        school policies, curricula, and instructional materials.
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