Congresswoman Harriet Hageman introduced the Parental Oversight and Educational Transparency legislation designed to bolster parental rights in education and ensure every parent knows what’s going on in their child’s school. The best way to protect our children is to empower their parents – and that begins with strong parental consent rights.
Current law requires schools to notify parents annually about activities involving the collection, disclosure, or use of personal student information, as well as surveys containing sensitive questions or non-emergency, invasive physical examinations. However, despite the law being clear as to what is required, violations of these requirements continue to occur. In a recent case, the Department of Education found that the Cedar Grove School District in New Jersey failed to provide proper notice or the opportunity for parents to opt their children out of “equity” and “diversity” surveys.
The Parental Oversight and Educational Transparency Act addresses these ongoing issues by mandating that schools not only provide annual notification at the beginning of the school year but also directly notify parents and obtain written consent at least two weeks before these activities take place. This ensures parents receive clear, actionable information and have a meaningful opportunity to protect their children’s privacy.
Representative Hageman stated, “Parental rights are fundamental to our republic, and they have a right to know when their children’s personal information is being collected or when they are subjected to invasive surveys. Our teachers do great work, but some bureaucrats pushing socially liberal agendas are deliberately sidelining parents in the education process. Empowered by federal overreach, agenda-driven school officials are more focused on controlling your kids than respecting your rights as parents. This bill ensures transparency and puts power back where it belongs—with families, not bureaucrats or activist educators.
Background
The Parental Oversight and Educational Transparency Act will protect students’ rights and uphold parental authority in education. When passed, activist administrators can no longer continue to sidestep their obligations to families through inadequate or perfunctory notices. This legislation ensures real accountability by requiring timely, detailed notifications and explicit parental consent, protecting families from invasive student data collection, surveys, and examinations.
This legislation is a critical step toward restoring trust and transparency in America’s education system and empowering parents to safeguard their children’s rights.
