‘Parents’ Bill Of Rights’ Rebuffed Plan Would Give Schools, State Too Much Power, Critics Charge

House Republicans’ “Parents’ Bill of Rights” for the public schools drew a stinging rebuke Thursday from most parents who testified at the first public hearing on the issue.

Critics said the proposal would actually erode parents’ rights and give the state and schools more power over their kids. Back to the drawing board, sponsors said, stunned by the reaction.

The measure, HB2216, is part of the majority party’s “Republican Commitment to the People,” this year’s follow-up to the campaign-style “Contract with Washington State” that dominated last year’s session.

House Education Chairman Bill Brumsickle, a Republican moderate from Centralia, said the bill isn’t rocket science. It mostly draws together all existing rights that parents have regarding their children’s education and puts them into one law, he said.

A new draft probably will be approved by the panel on Jan. 19, he said.

House Republicans killed a more sweeping version last year. That plan, offered by Rep. Val Stevens, R-Arlington, would have allowed parents to choose their children’s classes, remove them from classes they didn’t like, and could have banned sex education, AIDS prevention classes and “value-laden” courses.

The new version, sponsored by conservatives and moderates, spells out the rights and responsibilities of parents. Among the rights are inspection of the student’s school records, access to the classroom and teaching materials, and authority to pull the child from a class on religious or moral grounds.

Those are not new rights, but are scattered throughout the thick education code.

The responsibilities include active involvement in the child’s education, making sure the student doesn’t skip school, paying for damage their child causes, immunizing the child, and making sure their son or daughter shows up at school rested, clothed and fed.

Most of the parents at the hearing said the legislation as drafted appeared to be a step backward.

“This is parental rights in name only,” said Marda Kirkwood, Kent. “It has no new rights and will actually take away some.”

She and others objected to the bill’s use of the word “may,” rather than “shall” in describing what the schools must do for parents. Some witnesses said parents’ right to exempt their children from intrusive or personally offensive questionnaires and nonacademic testing would be eroded.