{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://cline.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1176", "Rep. Ben Cline Votes to Reclaim the Role of Parents in Their Childrens Education", "2023-03-24", "2023", "2023-03", "Republican", "House", "VA", "Ben Cline", "C001118", "cline.house.gov", "cline", "https://cline.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx?DocumentTypeID=27", "scraper", "Today, Congressman Ben Cline (R-VA) voted for, and the U.S. House of Representatives passed, the Parents' Bill of Rights Act (H.R. 5). This legislation reaffirms and protects a parent\u2019s God-given right to be involved in their child\u2019s education.\n\n\u201cParents are furious at the Radical Left\u2019s continued attempts to indoctrinate our children with woke agendas in America\u2019s public schools. As a father, I firmly believe that parents have the right to know and make decisions on what is being taught in the classroom without fear of being silenced,\u201d said Cline. \u201cThat is why I am proud to join my Republican colleagues in passing this important legislation to reclaim parents\u2019 role in their children\u2019s education, and prevent Big Government from controlling the narrative in our schools.\u201d\n\nThe Parents' Bill of Rights Act (H.R. 5) would enhance transparency among schools and parents, while clearly establishing and outlining the rights bestowed to parents. This bill ensures five commonsense principles are met by our schools:\n\n1. Parents have the right to know what their children are being taught.\n\nSchool districts must post curriculum information publicly.\n\nStates must provide the public a copy of any revisions to the state\u2019s academic standards or learning benchmarks.\n\nParents must be given timely notice of any school\u2019s plan to eliminate gifted and talented programs.\n\nSchools must provide parents with a list of books and reading materials available in the school library.\n\n2. Parents have the right to be heard.\n\nTeachers must offer two in-person meetings with parents each year.\n\nParents must be allowed to address the school board on issues impacting the education of children in the school district.\n\nEducators and policymakers must respect the First Amendment right of parents as well as their right to assemble and have a say in their child\u2019s education.\n\nSchool districts should consider community feedback when making decisions.\n\n3. Parents have the right to see the school budget and spending.\n\nThere must be public disclosure of school district budgets and each school\u2019s budget, including revenues and expenditures.\n\n4. Parents have the right to protect their child's privacy.\n\nSchools must not share student data with tech companies without parental permission.\n\nSchools must not sell student data for commercial purposes.\n\nParents have a say when schools develop or update their student privacy policies and procedures.\n\nParents must consent before any medical exam takes place at school, including mental health or substance use disorder screenings, and before students are surveyed.\n\n5. Parents have the right to be updated on any violent activity at school\n\nSchools must notify parents of violent activity occurring on school grounds or at school-sponsored events while still protecting the privacy of the students involved in the incident.\n\nFor a detailed summary, click here.\n\nCongressman Ben Cline represents the Sixth Congressional District of Virginia. He previously was an attorney in private practice and served both as an assistant prosecutor and Member of the Virginia House of Delegates. Cline and his wife, Elizabeth, live in Botetourt County with their two children.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T23:30:02Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://cline.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1176"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5317429788410664, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}