Minnesota Senate poised to pass GOP ‘Parents Bill of Rights’

Originally Published on The Minnesota Reformer

The Senate is poised to pass a slate of bills Thursday that supporters say will strengthen parents’ influence in their children’s education and opponents argue is unnecessary and potentially harmful to LGBTQ youth.

Senate Republicans have made the proposed “Parents Bill of Rights” a priority this session, joining conservatives in more than a dozen states pushing to increase parents’ access to classroom materials — often to keep watch for topics related to race, gender and sexuality.

In Minnesota, the GOP has pitched the package of bills — which govern curriculum access, teachers’ duties to share student information and public comment at school board meetings — as common-sense legislation aimed at increasing transparency and parent engagement.

“I think the end result we will find is that every school will get better,” said Sen. Paul Gazelka, R-East Gull Lake, during a recent committee hearing. “They’re going to be a better reflection of the families that are in the area.” Gazelka is also a candidate for governor.

Minnesota Democrats and the teachers union oppose the bills, arguing they’d be too burdensome for teachers. They also say the bills are unneeded because Minnesota law already allows parents to review classroom materials and request alternative instruction if they object to the content.

Advocates have raised concerns about negative effects on LGBTQ students as well, citing fears that one bill could be interpreted as requiring teachers to out students to their parents — potentially creating unsafe situations for students at home.

None of the bills appropriate money to defray costs of implementing them, meaning they are unfunded mandates.

A GOP spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment from the bill authors…