Parents’ Bill Of Rights Drafted By Tennessee Mom To Share With Lawmakers
Image Credit: Kristin Benton
The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] –
Tennessee mom Kristin Benton has drafted a Parents Bill of Rights that she is encouraging Tennessee residents to share with legislators ahead of the reconvening of the TN General Assembly in January.
Benton’s “Parents’ Bill of Rights” reads as follows:
Parents have the right to know.
- Parents have the right to know who is instructing their minor children, whether as an employee, substitute, or outside/guest speaker
- Parents must receive timely notification of all incidents of student safety in school, including crimes by teacher, other employees of the school, as well as guest and outside presenters
- Parents have a legal right to know if their minor and/or teen child will receive or has received medical treatment through the public schools or obtained permission to go to a medical facility for treatment during school hours.
- Parents have a right to information regarding organizations and individuals who receive funding or have contracts with the school.
- Parents have the right to know of any surveys distributed – whether written, verbal or otherwise and must OPT IN prior to their minor child participating in surveys.
Parents have the right to access.
- Parents have the right to access their children’s educational records, including how their information is collected and used.
- Parents have the right to visit their children on public school grounds, during school hours, including the right to observe in the classroom.
- Parents have a right to access all records – education, medical, or otherwise – regarding their minor children, including content of curriculum, teacher manuals and textbooks, as well as library information, including what titles have been checked out and any titles/materials that are accumulating late fees and shall be protected from signing non-disclosure agreements (or similar) in order to review instructional materials.
Parents have the right to consent.
- Parents have the right to OPT their minor child IN to extracurricular activities, including field trips, school assemblies, and guest speakers, prior to the student’s participation.
- Parents have the right to opt their minor children IN to sexual education curriculum prior to the student’s participation. There is no “opting out” – parental consent must be given before a minor child may participate in sexual education curriculum.
- Parent consent is required before sensitive personal information, including biometric data regarding their minor children is obtained.
- Parent consent is required for a doctor to perform any medical procedure on a minor child in a non-life threatening situation.
- Parent consent is required before a minor child may be given a vaccination
Parents have the right to sue schools for injunctive relief when the aforementioned rights are not upheld and protected. State funding may be withheld from those districts with repeated violations.
For an easily shareable version of the Parents’ Bill of Rights, please click HERE.
About the Author: Jason Vaughn, Media Coordinator for The Tennessee Conservative ~ Jason previously worked for a legacy publishing company based in Crossville, TN in a variety of roles through his career. Most recently, he served as Deputy Directory for their flagship publication. Prior, he was a freelance journalist writing articles that appeared in the Herald Citizen, the Crossville Chronicle and The Oracle among others. He graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a Bachelor’s in English-Journalism, with minors in Broadcast Journalism and History. Contact Jason at news@TennesseeConservativeNews.com
