A proposal for “a parental bill of rights” was recently introduced by New Hampshire House Speaker Sherman Packard, a Londonderry Republican who feels schools are withholding important information from parents.
The bill would be similar to House Bill 10, which stated “information on a child’s health, wellbeing, and education should not be withheld from parents.” The bill was sponsored by Packard in 2023, but was barely rejected by state representatives.
The proposal for this kind of legislation is the third in the past two years. House Bill 1431, proposed in 2022 and also rejected, stated, “parents have the right to be notified when a school investigates or takes action regarding a range of issues.” Among the issues included was gender expression and identity, which could conflict with state laws against discrimination.
Being able to express gender identity freely is crucial to a child’s wellbeing, and if this bill were to be passed, it would hinder that even further. The bill is written so parents gain control, not to benefit the child. Oftentimes students share confidential information with school staff because they feel unsafe or unsupported at home. The passing of this bill would inhibit students from wanting it to share it with anyone at all, causing further emotional stress.
HB 10 listed a series of parental rights, including “directing and education and care, upbringing and moral or religious training and deciding whether to enroll a child in private school.” Opponents of this bill argue parents already have such rights.
Additionally, they noted the wording in the measure was “vague,” and that potential penalties for educators in violation include revocation of teaching licenses. If a student were posing harm to themselves or others or engaging in illegal activity, educators are trained as mandated reporters, and parents will find out about those situations. However, freedom of gender expression is a human right, and those wanting to keep it confidential are allowed to do so from whomever they choose. Educators can be a safe resource for students; the revocation of teaching licenses for supporting them in the way they need is unethical.
State Rep. Jonah Wheeler, who voted against HB 10, stated “parents have legitimate concerns about what children encounter in schools and whether they’re getting a good education.” Wheeler added some districts receive much more financial support than others, as the state’s system for funding public education is extremely reliant on property taxpayers. Additionally, standardized test scores show much room for improvement. These factors have caused parents to consider private schools as an alternative.
Standardized test scores should never be an indication of the success of a school system and should not be the deciding factor in enrolling students in private schools. It is a common myth that private schools are better than public schools, as many believe the educators are more qualified. However, this is heavily reliant on the comparison of state test scores between public and private schools.
Private schools enroll a much smaller demographic of students, typically those being white, wealthy children. This is who they are testing. Public schools test everyone, regardless of class or race. If you were to take just the white, wealthy students out of public schools and only test them, they would receive the same, if not better, scores as private school students.
Additionally, research has shown most private school students have at least one parent with post-secondary education, where they actively encourage their children to hold themselves to high standards in terms of academic success.
There are easy paths parents can take to get involved with their childs’ education and well-being. The parents expressing concern of information being withheld have a child who is keeping something from them; I cannot speak on the behalf of every family dynamic, but open relationships between parents and children allow students to be comfortable sharing this information. Parents need to first assess if there is anything they can improve to support their child before attacking the school system.
This idea for this bill stems purely from attempts by Republicans to persecute the Department of Education. Instead of making sure the education system works, they are immediately looking for excuses to tear it down. The persecution of the Department of Education would result in every school becoming private, catering to the benefit of, again, privileged children, setting us even further back in time.
We will start seeing progress when the needs of the child are put first.
Jaden Johnson can be contacted at
jaden@kscequinox.com
