Parents and Teachers--Take Education Back
2023 Nebraska Legislature LB 374
by Sue Greenwald, MD
For this exercise, please download and print the 16 page Parent’s Bill of Rights and Educational Transparency Act so that you can follow along: Use this link 2023 Nebraska Legislature LB 374
Here is an excerpt from parentalrights.org
Parental Rights and Education
Our nation boasts some of the best public (and private) educators in the world. Unfortunately, we also have some teachers and administrators whose work and worldview are less than ideal.
Too often, the area of education sees the tension between parents and a group of professional elites who believe they can better make decisions for all children.
Public School: "No Parents Allowed" - Laws in a majority of states limit or entirely deny to parents any “right” to be present on school grounds where their child is in attendance.
Public School: Parents Are Losing Say Regarding Content - The Ninth Circuit in Fields v. Palmdale (2005) held that, “Parents…have no constitutional right…to prevent a public school from providing its students with whatever information it wishes to provide, sexual or otherwise, when and as the school determines that it is appropriate to do so.” (emphasis added)
Homeschool: Parental Rights to Educational Choice Being Questioned - Several academic journals over the last few years have featured claims by academic elitists “that public education should be mandatory and universal.” There have been several examples of homeschool families who, although homeschooling legally, had their decision undermined.
The 2005 judicial precedent from the Ninth Circuit court essentially took away the parents’ ability to sue a school district based on irresponsible content. The results have been obvious: smug school boards and administrators pushing whatever political agenda they like with impunity; school librarians pushing sexual content onto students and inventing byzantine procedures to punish parents who wish to challenge pornographic books. Students (and teachers) forced to defend their “privilege” if they are white, heterosexual and “cis-gender”, while students who are BIPOC (a horribly dehumanizing designation) are convinced that they are lifelong victims.
Clearly something is broken, and it is broken all across the country. Justifiably, teacher satisfaction has never been lower, and parents have never been so distrustful of American education.
Since 2021, Billions of taxpayer dollars have poured into the schools from the federal government in the form of “Covid Relief” aka “Esser Funds.” Where did the money go? A lot of it went to third party vendors of Social Emotional Learning and other woke curriculum. These programs come from left leaning educational organizations and data mining operations (like Panorama which is run by Attorney General Merrick Garland’s son-in-law), who donate to left leaning political organizations like the NEA and Planned Parenthood. It is a cozy little circle of taxpayer funding of the left. You can bet your bottom Esser dollar that none of the windfall went to teachers.
See these helpful tips to administrators on how to spend their Esser funds from one such vendor Aperture Education.
Types of Funding Available for SEL
The 2020 CARES Act provided $13.2 billion to elementary and secondary schools and districts to address COVID-19’s impact. The American Rescue Plan includes the following:
$123 billion for K–12 state education agencies. Of these funds, $800 million is earmarked for children experiencing homelessness and those hardest hit by the pandemic.
$2.75 billion is available to governors to assist private schools.
$3 billion is allocated for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
The good news for SEL is that at least 20% of district funds must be used to address learning loss through evidence-based interventions that support students’ academic and SEL needs.
The money HAD to be spent on left leaning vendors. It’s in the law.
That isn’t all. Tens of thousands of dollars per district are changing hands for third party vendors to gain access to students and teachers for intrusive attitude surveys about themselves and their families. Parents are unaware that paying a private contractor to survey the students will negate any federal privacy laws that may have protected that data from being shared or sold. Mining and selling data is a huge business. Just ask Mark Zuckerberg, an early investor in Panorama. (influencewatch.org)
With all the money sloshing around the education system the past few years, parents and teachers have been a very low priority. They are not a profit center. Their students and the federal government are.
Upon the complete loss of their rights and autonomy, both parents and teachers are facing the same dilemma. Do they leave? If so, where do they go? There are not a plethora of options available, especially in rural Nebraska. Enter the Parent’s Bill of Rights and Educational Transparency Act. (Nebraska Legislature 2023 LB 374) The time is ripe for parents and teachers to take back their schools from the vendors and bureaucrats. It isn’t just a Nebraska issue. At least 8 other states are debating similar laws and Florida passed their groundbreaking bill last year. (legiscan.com).
The key to the Nebraska’s Parents Bill of Rights and Educational Transparency Act is Section 12, which allows families and teachers to sue the school district if their rights under the law are violated:
A parent, student, or teacher aggrieved by a violation of the Parent’s Bill of Rights and Educational Transparency Act may bring a civil action for appropriate relief. Appropriate relief includes: (a) Actual damages; (b) Such preliminary and other equitable or declaratory relief as may be appropriate; and (c) Reasonable attorney's fees and other litigation costs reasonably incurred.
The other key is Section 3, which makes it abundantly clear who the minor children belong to, the Ninth Circuit court be damned:
Every parent of a child in this state shall have a fundamental right to direct the upbringing, education, care, and mental health of the parent's child. The following rights are reserved for each parent of a child in this state.
(1) The right to direct the education and care of such child; (2) The right to direct the upbringing and the moral or religious training of such child; (3) The right to retain the primary role in a child's education, to obtain critical information about what is being taught or provided in the classroom, and to take action when a parent feels that the quality or content of a child's education does not align with the values and expectations the parent expects and deserves; (4) The right to request, access, and inspect all written and electronic records maintained by a school relating to such child; (5) The right to be informed of and inspect the curriculum, learning materials, and any other materials that are made available or taught to such child in the child's school; (6) The right to attend publicly designated meetings of the school board and the right to question and address school officials during designated public comment periods or through letters, electronic communications, or in-person meetings; (7) The right to make healthcare and medical decisions for such child, including the right to make decisions regarding vaccinations and immunizations as provided in section 79-221;
(8) The right to expect that no school or school employee will compel a teacher, educator, or student to adopt, affirm, adhere to, or profess ideas in violation of Title IV or Title VI of the federal Civil 24 Rights Act of 1964, as amended. Such ideas include, but are not limited to: (a) That individuals of any race, ethnicity, color, or national origin are inherently superior or inferior; (b) That individuals should be adversely or advantageously treated on the basis of individual race, ethnicity, color, or national origin; or (c) That individuals, by virtue of their race, ethnicity, color, or national origin, bear collective guilt and are inherently responsible for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race, ethnicity, color, or national origin.
The bill also protects students from data mining. (Section 10), and has 2 sections outlining the process for the parental challenging of library materials.
This bill is a gift to teachers. It protects them from being compelled to affirm anything that violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in their curriculum, training, or professional development, while specifically protecting their right to discuss history and public policy issues, even if someone is offended.
Perhaps one of the most valuable clauses for Nebraska teachers is the one that unequivocally provides protection from adverse career consequences (Section 11) if he/she
refuses to teach matter prohibited by (the Civil Rights Act of 1964), or to teach matter against such teacher’s sincerely held religious beliefs
For parents and teachers alike, there is a lot to love in LB 374. Please read it in it’s entirely, discuss it with your neighbors, then ask your Nebraska State Senator to support it.
The author is a retired Pediatrician and a co-founder of the Protect Nebraska Children Coalition.