I had a friend go through this, and it was heartbreaking to watch. Her teenage son’s school had been counseling him on a gender transition—without her knowledge or consent. Teachers were instructed not to inform his parents, and counselors were drawing him into a web of pseudo-support networks. Administrators dismissed her concerns. And when she considered taking legal action, she was told that she might not even have standing in court to challenge the school’s policy.
She’s not the only one. We all know someone—a friend, a neighbor, a family member—who has faced something similar. A father fighting just to see what his son is being taught in the classroom. A mother discovers too late that her child has been subjected to radical ideology behind her back. Parents who never imagined they’d have to prove in court that they have the right to raise their own children.
It’s exhausting and overwhelming, and no one should have to go through this. Parents are simply trying to raise their kids with love and common sense—they shouldn’t have to battle school administrators and courts just to do it. Yet across the country, schools operate in secrecy, pushing radical agendas and treating parents as obstacles rather than partners. And now, many courts refuse to protect parental rights at all.
This is about more than one issue—it’s about whether parents have any say in their children’s education at all. And I hate to say this is not an isolated case. It is part of a widespread effort to cut parents out of their children’s education, moral standards, and mental health.
For years, parents have watched in horror as public schools moved from education to indoctrination. From radical gender ideology to Critical Race Theory, from hyper-sexualized materials to historical revisionism, schools are deciding what our children will believe—without parental oversight, without transparency, and without accountability.
This is about more than gender policies. This is about whether parents have any rights at all.
Every day, new stories emerge that expose just how deep this crisis runs. Parents across the country are being blocked, ignored, or outright deceived about what their children are being taught:
- Curriculum Secrecy – School boards refuse to release full lesson plans, leaving parents guessing about what their children are being taught in history, literature, and health classes. In some states, parents must file formal records requests—and even then, they receive redacted or incomplete materials.
- Gender Ideology Without Parental Consent – Schools are actively encouraging gender transitions while keeping parents in the dark. Teachers have been given explicit instructions not to inform parents if their child adopts a new name, pronouns or even begins using the opposite-sex bathroom.
- Sexualized Content in Classrooms – Books with graphic sexual content are being placed in school libraries and included in reading lists—without parental notification. When parents raise concerns, they are dismissed as "book banners" or "extremists."
- Critical Race Theory and Historical Revisionism – Many schools are quietly embedding divisive racial ideology into their curricula, pushing the idea that America is inherently racist and that children should be viewed through the lens of oppression and privilege.
- Political Indoctrination Over Education – Increasingly, schools are using classroom time for activism rather than academics. Instead of focusing on math, reading, and science, schools are encouraging students to participate in political movements, social justice campaigns, and ideological pledges.
The worst part? Many parents don’t even know this is happening—because schools refuse to tell them.
The legal system is supposed to serve as a backstop against government overreach. But instead, many courts are avoiding these cases altogether.
In Parents Protecting Our Children v. Eau Claire Area School District, a federal court dismissed parents’ concerns about a policy that told teachers to hide a child’s gender transition from their parents. The court ruled that the parents’ harm was merely “speculative”—because they had not yet discovered whether their own children were being secretly transitioned.
Other courts have taken similar stances:
-The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against parents in Maryland, saying they had no standing to challenge gender policies in their schools.
-A district court in Ohio reached the same conclusion in a case involving school policies on gender and parental notification.
-In some federal circuits, parents are even required to hire a lawyer just to represent their own child in court.
This is why we cannot rely on the courts alone to defend parents’ rights. If we do not enshrine these protections in law, schools will continue to exploit legal loopholes, dismiss parental authority, and impose their own agenda on our children.
President Trump’s January 29 executive order was a critical first step. His directive calls for federal funding to be pulled from schools that push gender transitions on minors and directs the Attorney General to take legal action against school officials who violate parental rights.
But executive orders are not enough. They can be removed with a stroke of the same pen. We need federal law.
That is why the Parents Bill of Rights Act is essential. This legislation will:
- Require full transparency on curricula, library books, and classroom materials so parents can see what their children are being taught.
- Mandate parental consent for major decisions affecting their child's mental, emotional, and physical health.
- Prohibit schools from concealing gender transitions, counseling, or other interventions from parents.
- Ensure parents can challenge school policies in court—without unnecessary legal barriers.
- Protect children from ideological indoctrination by restoring education, not activism, as the primary mission of public schools.
Republicans campaigned on these issues. They promised to stand with parents. Now, they must act.
With control of both the House and Senate, there are no excuses. If they fail to pass this legislation before the next election, this opportunity may be lost for a generation.
Parental rights are not up for debate. Schools are accountable to parents—not the other way around. It’s time to put this principle into law.
