In the wake of COVID-19, one of the most animated and active voting blocs has become parents of school-aged children who feel unsettled by public school curricula and pandemic-era lockdown policies.
Attempting to capitalize on this dissatisfaction are House Republicans, who introduced the Parents Bill of Rights in March.
If it passes the Senate, the law would fundamentally reorder the administration of public schools, giving parents an unprecedented say over their children’s education from classroom curricula to library books. Whether that’s for better or worse depends on who you ask.
Some parents are rallying behind parental rights in an attempt to rid public schools of top-down political ideology. Others view the movement itself as politically motivated — stifling efforts to evolve classroom discussions meant to reflect a changing world at large.
Yet even without the current political climate, it’s unlikely these concerns will cease anytime soon. Schools, after all, are entirely capable of indoctrination, largely because education and indoctrination are synonymous. The original use of the word “indoctrinate,” dating all the way back to 1620, simply means “to teach.”
This leaves both sides stuck playing a decades-old game of tug-of-war with what gets indoctrinated into the public school system. But what happens when the rope breaks? Experts hope greater freedom of choice within the school system and a greater focus on what children are learning, rather than simply what they are taught.
Read more about parents' efforts to have a say in their children's education.