MILWAUKEE – A Republican-led bill passed through the state legislature would set parental rights into state law. Assembly Bill 510 is also known as the Parents Bill of Rights. Taking inspiration from the original .. it would codify fundamental rights that parents have related to their kids’ education.
This includes a parent’s right determine where and what type of school kids attend, their religion, as well as the names and pronouns kids use while at school .. and the ability to opt out of anything being taught either for religious reasons or simply personal conviction. There are 16 rights enshrined in the bill.
This has drawn opposition from the Department of Public instruction. DPI communications director and former 8th grade teacher Abigail Swetz told WTMJ she believes that the bill won’t improve parent-teacher interactions.
“This kind of bill is really part of a pattern of attacks that I think we’re seeing on public ed because it’s designed to shut down discussion and really inserts our educators into a culture war that no one should be fighting in the first place,” Swetz said.
Swetz is worried about the effect specifically on LGBTQ youth, citing recent statistics released by the Office of Children’s Mental Health that two in four LGBTQ children have considered suicide in the past year and one out of four has attempted it.
The progressive advocacy group A Better Wisconsin Together has come out strongly against the bill as well, with communications director Lucy Ripp condemning the bill as an attack on marginalized groups.
“[The bill] is part of a much larger MAGA agenda to censor what is taught in schools, similar to other GOP efforts to ban books,” Ripp said.
A Better Wisconsin Together also taking issue with the process to create the bill. Kipp says she’s not happy about the involvement of the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, or WILL.
“Extremist groups like the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty have no business in these positions,” Ripp said.
So did WILL help write the bill? Education counsel Cory Brewer indicated the group was consulted on AB510.
“WILL does a lot of work on parental rights legal and policy issues so often policy makers do look to us for feedback and suggestions on legislation,” Brewer said.
Brewer believes that the rights in the bill are mostly already in state and federal law – they’re just not being followed. She said the new bill will spell it out clearly and provide a mechanism for enforcement of parental rights.
Brewer thinks this wouldn’t be as radical a change as it’s being portrayed by opponents.
“This shouldn’t be controversial, it should be bipartisan,” she said.
But in the end, was all the energy expended on either fighting for or against this bill worth it, given that it’s all but certain to be vetoed by Governor Evers. Swetz, Kipp, and Brewer all said absolutely – it’s worth fighting for either children’s or parent’s rights.
The bill now heads to the governor’s desk.
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