Parents Bill of Rights Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. SCALISE. Mr. Chair, I thank the gentlewoman from New York for yielding and for her amendment to such an important bill.

The Parents Bill of Rights Act is a basic concept, but it is a powerful statement that says we stand with parents and children in the ability for them to have a say in their kids' education. You would think: Who would be against this? Why do we need a law to do what everybody should think is the right thing to do?

Unfortunately, what we have seen through this debate is that the left is scared to death of parents having more of a say in their kids' education. Union bosses are scared to death of parents having a say in their kids' education.

It begs the question: Why would they be so afraid of parents wanting to see the curriculum that their kids are experiencing when they go to school?

I think we all saw why their concern is so vocal. This all happened during COVID. As we went from classroom learning to virtual learning, millions of parents actually got a glimpse into what was going on in the classrooms of their kids.

I am sure most of those parents thought they were just going to be watching their kids learn how to read, how to write, how to break down sentence structures, and how to learn math. Some of that was going on, but what alarmed parents were all the other things that had absolutely nothing to do with their kids having an opportunity to achieve the American Dream.

In fact, some of the things that were going on undermined the basic values that those parents are teaching their kids at home, things that had nothing to do with helping those kids learn and be prepared for better opportunities in the future. They started asking questions, and they were right to ask those questions.

Except the Biden administration got concerned because the union bosses didn't want those parents to see what was going on. You had the Justice Department trying to tag parents as domestic terrorists for showing up at school board meetings, for God's sake, because they cared about what was happening in their kids' schools.

It shouldn't have taken an act of Congress to give parents that right. If it does, I am proud to stand with the parents and kids against the union bosses who don't want parents to have that right to care about their kids' education.

For God's sake, we shouldn't have to be here doing this. The unions shouldn't be fighting this every step of the way, but it really shows you what they care about if they don't want parents to have these rights.

Thank goodness we have Virginia Foxx's committee, Julia Letlow's bill, and Members of Congress coming together and saying parents ought to have that ability. Republican, Democrat, Independent, it doesn't matter what your political viewpoint is because, for anybody in this country, part of the American Dream is being able to pass on better opportunities to your kids than what you had. The best way to do that, the greatest equalizer, is education.

If you have to be concerned about what is happening in your kid's classroom, and the school doesn't want you to see what is happening in your kid's classroom, you really ought to be alarmed. Every parent ought to have that right because when kids are sent to school, they should be learning how to get more opportunities, how to advance and have more success than we had. If they are being taught things that undermine that, every parent ought to be able to know about that. Under this bill, they finally will.

This is a power that every parent should already have. We saw during COVID some parents had that ability, but unfortunately, many parents were denied that ability to have a basic understanding of what was happening in their kids' classrooms. Millions of kids were denied education, which ultimately means those millions of kids are denied opportunity. No one should stand for that.

Mr. Chair, on this day and on every day, I am proud to stand with the parents and the kids. Nobody should get in their way, especially union bosses who don't want parents to be able to have that opportunity to stand up for their kids.

Let's stand with the parents and the kids. Let's pass this bill.

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