{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://houchin.house.gov/media/press-releases/published-op-ed-im-mom-3-school-aged-children-and-we-need-protect-parents", "Published Op-Ed: \u201cI\u2019m a mom of 3 school-aged children and we need to protect parents\u2019 rights inside the classroom\u201d", "2023-09-14", "2023", "2023-09", "Republican", "House", "IN", "Erin Houchin", "H001093", "houchin.house.gov", "houchin", "https://houchin.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 Today, Congresswoman Erin Houchin (R-Ind.-09) had an op-ed published in Fox News on the urgent need to protect Hoosier parents\u2019 rights inside the classroom.\n\n\u201cNow more than ever we need to protect parents\u2019 voices inside the classroom. I know I join parents across southern Indiana, and across our country, in feeling increasingly worried as soon as we send our children off to school,\u201dCongresswoman Houchin writes.\n\nRead Congresswoman Houchin\u2019s full op-ed here and below.\n\nI\u2019m a mom of 3 school-aged children and we need to protect parents\u2019 rights inside the classroom\n\nLet me cut to the chase: Now more than ever we need to protect parents\u2019 voices inside the classroom.\n\nI know I join parents across southern Indiana, and across our country, in feeling increasingly worried as soon as we send our children off to school.\n\nIt wasn\u2019t always like this. However, as a mother to three school-aged children, I have experienced it myself throughout the years. Conversations surrounding education have evolved, especially conversations about a parent\u2019s voice when they are advocating for their children.\n\nRecently, it feels like the communication lines have been strained, or even severed, between home and school \u2013 where our children spend most of their day.\n\nSome changes became painfully obvious to parents during the pandemic, as our living rooms became classrooms. Quickly, parents came to realize exactly what their children\u2019s days looked like.\n\nMany parents have told me that they were surprised and disappointed by what they learned about their children\u2019s educational experience. And when parents vocalized these concerns in school board meetings, they were often met with silence or dismissed.\n\nAs I said on the floor of the House of Representatives, sending a child to a public school does not terminate the parents\u2019 rights at the door. When I worked in child services, I assisted with the care of children in foster care. I saw how the process worked firsthand.\n\nWhen foster parents are caring for children in custody of the state, they can\u2019t give those kids a haircut without permission from the child\u2019s biological parents. Why shouldn\u2019t the same rules apply to our students\u2019 well-being in the classroom?\n\nHere in southern Indiana, we\u2019re lucky. Most of our school districts go above and beyond to communicate with parents and inform them about, and empower them in, their children\u2019s education. Tragically, this is not a universal experience across our country.\n\nIn fact, one father in Virginia had to learn his daughter was assaulted in a high school bathroom from his child, not the school.\n\nJust last month, a New Jersey judge ruled to block multiple school districts from notifying parents of a child\u2019s gender identity change.\n\nStories like these shouldn\u2019t become the new normal.\n\nThat is exactly why House Republicans made commitments to address this problem and pushed for legislation that culminated in H.R. 5, the \"Parent\u2019s Bill of Rights.\" We heard the pleas of parents across America and knew we couldn\u2019t stand by as parental rights are being eroded in our public schools. I was proud to be an original champion of H.R. 5 and support its swift passage in the House.\n\nThis bill reaffirmed the fundamental relationship that had long existed between parents and teachers in America \u2013 that parents have the right to make informed decisions about their children\u2019s education.\n\nAs we highlighted extensively during the House Education and Workforce Committee\u2019s consideration of the bill, The \"Parents Bill of Rights\" contains five basic principles to ensure: that parents have the right to know what their children are being taught; that parents have the right to be heard; that parents have the right to see the school budget; that parents have the right to protect their children\u2019s privacy; and that parents have a right to keep their children safe.\n\nFurthermore, I was happy to add to this legislation during the committee process with an amendment to require notification of parents when their student isn\u2019t reading at a grade-level proficiency by the end of third grade \u2013 an important time when kids start to transition from learning to read to reading to learn. Our child literacy rates are falling behind, and the more parents can help the better. But to help they must be informed.\n\nYears ago, we had no need for this kind of legislative action. But unfortunately, in today\u2019s world this bill is necessary because school districts across the country have failed to deliver on these basic principles. The American education system is failing us.\n\nThis debate has inspired my colleagues and me to continue to take steps to strengthen our schools and empower parents. For me, this includes actions to expand choices for parents. This is why I will always be a strong supporter of school choice and education savings accounts, which keep parents squarely in the driver\u2019s seat.\n\nParents know what is best for their student. As members of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce say, it\u2019s time to apply our most fundamental principle, freedom, to our most fundamental system, education.\n\nThis bill reaffirmed the fundamental relationship that had long existed between parents and teachers in America \u2013 that parents have the right to make informed decisions about their children\u2019s education.\n\nNow, as a member of the committee, I have a seat at the table for parents inside the committee room. It\u2019s important that we protect and restore parents\u2019 original role in their children's education, because in the vast majority of cases, no one will be a better advocate for their children than parents. And I, along with my House Republican colleagues, won\u2019t stop until we achieve this mission.\n\nThankfully, we fought for and delivered a bill to put parents, not bureaucrats, in charge of their children\u2019s education by ensuring access to information, but the fight doesn\u2019t stop there. We will continue to look for partners in our Senate colleagues and other opportunities to restore educational excellence in every school in America.\n\nI won\u2019t stop contending on behalf of my fellow parents because the rights of parents don\u2019t stop at the classroom door.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T00:37:48Z"]], "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://houchin.house.gov/media/press-releases/published-op-ed-im-mom-3-school-aged-children-and-we-need-protect-parents"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.2405291199684143, "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"}