Proposed legislation in Idaho could reemphasize the importance of parents’ rights to participate in their children’s education, but it’s unclear if the bill will give parents any additional control at school.
Idaho’s House Education Committee passed the bill last week after a lengthy debate regarding the legislation’s wording, according to an Idaho Education News story. The bill states “parents and legal guardians who have legal custody of minor children have a right, responsibility and obligation to participate in the education of such minor children.”
Republican Rep. Janet Trujillo, who sponsored the bill, said in the article that the bill was written to reaffirm parents’ rights and strengthen parent-teacher partnerships. The House may vote on the bill next week.
But according to the story, parents testifying in support of the bill were seeking more than affirmations. One parent testified that she was not allowed to request that her children skip the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium tests this spring. (Some Chicago parents are opting their children out of state testing this month.) Republican Rep. Judy Boyle told the committee that she fought for two years to receive her children’s Iowa Test of Basic Skills scores.
Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna told the Idaho Education News, however, that the bill does not give parents the right to refuse state testing for their children.