The North Carolina Senate approved a “Parents’ Bill of Rights” law on Tuesday written to give parents transparency and authority over their children’s education.
Republican state Sen. Amy Galey, a primary sponsor of the bill, said the legislation “requires that public schools inform parents of their rights and of the procedures to exercise those rights.”
“Parents should be confident that when there is a problem, a remedy is available,” Galey said.
The bill allows parents to see materials being used in the classroom, notifies the parents of any medical and mental health treatment, and requires that parents be informed of any name or pronoun changes related to their child. The bill also prohibits instruction on gender identity, sexual activity, or the teaching of sexuality in kindergarten through fourth grade classrooms.
“This bill would not ban a student from talking about their unique family structure or asking a question,” Berger said. “All it does is simply prohibit sexuality, sexual activity, and gender identity from being part of the curriculum in those grades.”
A Parents’ Bill of Rights for Students
All Democrats voted against the bill and countered with their own “Parents’ and Students’ Bill of Rights” (pdf) that shifts those rights to the students.According to its stated purpose, the Democrats’ bill is intended to promote a “learning environment in which discrimination in all forms is not tolerated by the public-school unit or school administration, school police or security personnel, or students.”
The bill is also intended to promote “a feeling of safety and comfort at school, including sufficient protections and resources for the public school and school unit, including physical and mental protections for students and staff.”
The bill has no provisions for sexual material or gender identity being taught in the classroom.
“I’m afraid that we are going to see some bills come up that are going to attempt to again create what people sometimes call culture wars but are really about who has a right to exist in our society and who has a right to exist free in our society and not having to live in fear or live in a way that makes them feel like they’re surrounded by people who have animosity toward them,” Grafstein said.
Democrat Gov. Roy Cooper told reporters on Tuesday that he doesn’t approve of the bill but would wait until he sees the final version before committing to a veto.
Republicans could override his veto now that Republican state House members passed rules for their chamber allowing the speaker to call a vote on Cooper’s vetoes without notice.
In the November election, Republicans won a supermajority with two seats gained in the Senate.
Republicans won seven seats in the House in districts that lean Democrat, but they remain one seat short of having a House supermajority.
