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There is no question that parents play a critical role in a child’s education. Research has shown that parental engagement in a child’s education is positively linked to many crucial outcomes, such as behavior, academic achievement, social skills, and healthy lifestyle choices. Parental encouragement, involvement, and support are all crucial predictors of student success. However, there is a clear distinction between parental engagement and parental rights. The parental rights movement has weaponized all the beneficial aspects of parental engagement and has turned them into a way to discriminate against LGBTQ+ students, whitewash history, and endanger student safety and privacy.
Across the country, we’ve seen the damaging impacts of the parental rights movement. We recently highlighted that in Citrus County, Florida, the school district created an “opt-in” access plan, where parents have to fill out a form giving permission to their students to use the libraries, causing around 4,000 students to be unable to use their school library because of “parent error or lack of engagement.” This isn’t a unique issue — other states are struggling with similar problems. In one Virginia district, parents receive an email notification each time their student checks out a book. In a Pennsylvania district, a panel of adults must sign off on every book that librarians plan to purchase. A Tennessee law makes it a felony for a book publisher, seller, or distributor to provide books to public schools that could be deemed inappropriate. Educators have reported fearing that they will become criminally liable and lose their jobs due to new parental rights laws that ban discussions of many topics in schools.
Beyond the book bans and censorship, we’ve seen the parental rights movement spiral into impacts that directly damage the health and safety of children. As a result of North Carolina’s ‘Parents Bill of Rights,’ a successful child sexual abuse prevention program, SafeTouch, has been forced to halt their services. The program was initiated in response to guidance counselors seeing a concerning influx of sexual abuse cases and it provides an opportunity for students to disclose this abuse. Taking away this outlet for students to report abuse puts them in danger.
As issues with parental rights legislation continue to pile up, we are only beginning to understand the breadth of negative impacts that this movement will cause. The parental rights movement undercuts the crucial role of schools, teachers, and librarians. While parental involvement is vital, students deserve to be able to read the books their schools provide, disclose abuse, and confidentially see a counselor without fear of repercussions.
Celebrities Fight Back (and win!)
Pink: Pink recently showed her support for PEN America and spoke out against book bans in schools. The artist said she is extremely worried about the implications of book bans in schools, aptly identifying the bans as censorship. To combat Florida book bans, Pink gave away 2,000 banned books at her concerts in Miami and Sunrise, Florida.
LeVar Burton: LeVar Burton, longtime host and executive producer of the classic kids’ program Reading Rainbow, said recently of book bans: “It’s not only a conversation worth having. It’s a fight worth fighting.” Burton served as honorary chair of Banned Books Week earlier this year and spoke at the National Book Awards. Burton emphasizes that it is the responsibility of adults to advocate for children when they cannot advocate for themselves.
Celebrity Letter: Earlier this year, almost 200 celebrities signed an open letter to Hollywood calling on others to speak out against book bans. The letter, launched by LeVar Burton and signed by celebrities including Ariana Grande, Mark Ruffalo, and Idina Menzel, called the bans “antithetical to free speech and expression” and said they have a “chilling effect” on the broader creative field.
Events & Resources for Action
NAFSCE: The National Association for Family, School, and Community Engagement aims to support community involvement in education and advance policies that promote healthy child development and improve student achievement. The organization recently launched an initiative called “Healing the Growing Divide”, which pushes back on harmful parents’ rights movements.
Truthout: Truthout offers a comprehensive analysis of parental rights groups in the U.S. and the impact they have on education policies. The organization also offers advice on recognizing these extremist groups and fighting their influence.