SW News: The "Parents Bill of Rights," which included last-minute modifications to increase openness on schools' transgender policies, was approved by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives to ensure that parents can play a bigger role in the public education system.

With the support of the majority of Republicans, the resolution sponsored by Rep. Julia Letlow, R–Louisiana—passed the House 213-208. The GOP's education strategy is centered on HR5, a piece of legislation that is a reflection of numerous laws that have been proposed or passed in various states across the nation. It describes the rights parents have about their children's education, including access to teacher-parent conferences, materials from the school budget, curriculum, and literature, as well as the chance to speak in front of a school board.

The resolution would establish new federal requirements for the public education system that would enforce greater openness over the curriculum and budget of schools, increase parental input opportunities on educational issues, and strengthen student privacy rights and security regulations.

It would mandate that school districts openly disclose their curriculum and give parents a list of library books and other library reading materials in order to increase openness. It would require the public disclosure of all earnings and expenditures, school district budgets, and budgets for each individual school.

The bill would also mandate that teachers offer parents at least two in-person meetings annually and that school boards give parents the opportunity to speak to the board to promote closer cooperation between the schools and the parents.

It would prohibit the sale of student data for any commercial reasons and mandate that schools obtain parental consent before sharing student information with technology businesses in order to protect children's privacy. Additionally, lawmakers approved two amendments to the resolution that were submitted by Rep. Lauren Boebert, a Republican from Colorado. In accordance with her modifications, schools must inform parents if they permit biological men who identify as women to play girls’ sports or use the restrooms for girls.

The resolution would require schools to notify parents about violent action on school property and at school-sponsored events in an effort to increase student safety and transparency. When contacting parents, the schools would have to respect the privacy of the violent kids.

The resolution now heads to the Democratic-controlled Senate, where it faces an uphill challenge.