Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signs common sense Parental Bill of Rights into law

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As schools increasingly take it upon themselves to introduce young children to inappropriate sexual materials and gender ideology, all states should step up and protect the right of parents to direct the education and health of their children.

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Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, R, last week signed HB 8, a parental bill of rights law that gives parents more say about the material their child is exposed to in K-12 schools.

Under the law, parents will have the right to review material that teaches about sexuality and opt their children out of such instruction. It also prohibits school staff from encouraging students to hide information from parents, bans teaching on sexuality or gender identity before the fourth grade, and allows students to be excused for religious instruction.

The law mandates that all school material is age-appropriate and that schools inform parents before any of it is shown to students. Parents will then have the opportunity to view the material and, if they want, to opt their child out of the lesson.

In addition, schools must notify parents of any substantial change in a student’s mental, emotional, of physical health or well-being and be given access to any of the student’s health records, including all information related to the child’s use of school counseling services, such as any request by a child to identify as a different gender.

The law prohibits school employees from directly or indirectly encouraging students to hide information about their physical or mental well-being from their parents. Schools must also obtain consent from parents before providing any physical, mental, or behavioral health services to a student.

Under the law, schools are not permitted to provide any “oral or written instruction, presentation, image, or description of sexual concepts or gender ideology” to children in kindergarten through third grade.

Rep. D.J. Swearingen, a sponsor of the legislation, stated, “This important legislation acknowledges the fundamental role that parents play in the lives of their children. We have a responsibility to support and protect the irreplaceable position that only parents can have in their kids’ lives.”

The bill also requires school districts to allow “release time” during the school day for religious instruction, a provision that had been the subject of a previous bill. That bill, introduced by Rep. Gary Click, R, was eventually combined into HB8 after several school districts blocked LifeWise Academy, which offers Bible classes during school hours, from providing Christian education off-campus. LifeWise classes are normally held during lunch or in lieu of an elective.

Click believes that parents should be the ones making decisions concerning their children. “While many schools have been responsive to the requests of parents, some have not,” he stated. “Regardless of their intentions, their failure to implement these policies results in a denial of Ohioans’ parental rights and constitutional right to the free exercise of religion.”

Joel Penton, the founder and CEO of LifeWise Academy stated that the organization holds classes during the school day so that students who otherwise couldn’t go to the classes will have the opportunity and public transportation.

“As we all know, some parents remove their children from public school to send them to private Christian school or home school, often for the purpose of providing religious instruction. This is simply not feasible for all families. But that does not mean that parents don’t want religious instruction for their children,” Penton said.

While opponents of HB8, who compared it to Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay Bill,” claimed that its provisions would cause students to distrust school counselors and that gay and trans students would be “outed” to parents against their will, supporters had ample reason for concern. In school districts across the nation schools have introduced sexual material and gender ideology to children.

Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland tells teachers of students as young as preschool to read books discussing LGBT ideology and gender diversity. The district initially allowed parents to opt their children out until so many did that the school district claimed it was “disruptive.” When parents challenged the decision not to allow opt-outs, a district court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled the parents had no right to keep their young children from seeing images and learning about an ideology that went against their religious beliefs.

The parents, who belong to the Christian, Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Jewish, and Muslim faiths, have since appealed to the Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, many school districts intentionally hide students’ gender incongruence from their parents and some even help facilitate a gender transition by putting children on gender support plans and pushing them to pursue social and medical transitions.

Who should direct the education of children: the state or parents? As informed by both the Bible and a century of Supreme Court precedent, we believe that parents should decide.

Not that long ago, it was an accepted belief in American society that parents should direct all aspects related to the upbringing, health, and well-being of their children — not teachers, school boards, or school counselors.

Sadly, around the nation, school officials and employees have taken it upon themselves to promote sexually inappropriate content and gender identity theory on young children and manipulate them into questioning and even rejecting their God-given identity.

By codifying parental rights into law, Ohio can ensure that school districts won’t be able to push these harmful ideas or images on children without a parents’ prior consent.

In addition, by requiring school officials to permit students to pursue religious instruction during the school day so long as it doesn’t take children out of core subject classes, the law further helps parents direct their child’s education so he or she learns about topics that are important to them.

Ohio’s parental rights law codifies common sense, and other states would do well to pass their own version of this law. It’s not only beneficial for children and parents, but it will also allow schools to focus on their primary mission: teaching academics.

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Many K-12 schools now embrace the secular woke agenda and are hostile to Christian beliefs and parental rights. Fortunately, parents don’t have to settle for this. Liberty University Online Academy is a K-12 program designed to educate your children in the ways of the Lord while preparing them to stand firm in their faith when they graduate. Our flexible online curriculum ensures that your student is trained at your convenience and keeps YOU the ultimate educator of your children.