WASHINGTON, D.C. (KTVE/KARD) — Louisiana leaders working in Washington have a new bill of rights to present to their constituents. This new bill of rights will be geared toward parents.

According to Congresswoman Julia Letlow, she plans to introduce the Parents’ Bill of Rights Act with a group of her Republican colleagues. Letlow says the legislation will create opportunities for better conversations between families and the schools where their children attend. The end goal, according to Letlow, is to lead to more input throughout the learning process.

“As a mom of two and a former educator, I firmly believe that the relationship between parents and schools should be collaborative, not adversarial,” Letlow said. “Education is not a job parents or schools can do by themselves, it requires us to work together. This bill contains common-sense ideas, and also fully opens the door for those partnerships.”

According to Letlow, the Parents’ Bill of Rights will be build on five core principles that will apply to schools nationwide and receive federal funding.
 
The five principles are:

  1. Parents have the right to review their school’s curriculum, reading materials, and state academic standards.
  2. Parents have the right to lawfully engage with their local school board and educators.
  3. Parents have the right to see a school’s budget and spending, including detailed information about revenues and expenditures.
  4. Parents have the right to protect their child’s privacy.
  5. Parents have the right to keep their child safe and be updated on any violent activity at school.

Letlow went on to say, “Excluding parents from education will never work because it ignores the simple truth that these are our children, not the government’s.”
 
Letlow also says the legislation will create opportunities for more transparency and accountability with the main goal being to increase parental involvement in the education of their children and the schools they attend. If you want to read a summary of the legislation from the House Committee on Education and Labor, click here.