Wisconsin Republicans pass parent bill of rights legislation

MADISON, Wis. (Civic Media) – Republicans in the state legislature passed a “parent bill of rights” in the Senate Tuesday along party lines.

The Assembly passed the bill, A.B. 510, 62-35 last month.

According to the bill, 16 rights would be granted to parents or guardians of public school children. The rights range from approving pronouns and names used at school to challenging curriculum.

If a district violates any of the rights in the bill, a parent or guardian can sue the district or a government official for up to $10,000. The bill also requires school boards to hold a public hearing for any complaints filed by parents or guardians.

The parents’ bill of rights includes:

• 1. The right to determine the religion of the child.
• 2. The right to determine the type of school or educational setting the child attends.
• 3. The right to be notified of each health care service, including vaccinations or immunizations, offered at the child’s school and the right to withhold consent or decline any specific service, unless otherwise specified by law or court order.
• 4. The right to review all medical records related to the child, unless otherwise specified by law or court order.
• 5. The right to determine the names and pronouns used for the child while at school.
• 6. The right to review instructional materials and outlines used by the child’s school, to the extent required by federal law.
• 7. The right to access records regarding the education of the child that are generated, maintained, or used by the child’s school, to the extent required by federal
• law.
• 8. The right to timely notice by the child’s school of any surveys or evaluations conducted in the child’s classroom that would reveal information concerning any of the following about the child or his or her parent or family members: political affiliations or beliefs; mental or psychological problems; sexual behavior or attitudes; illegal, antisocial, self-incriminating, or demeaning behavior; critical appraisals of individuals with whom the child or parent has a close family relationship; relationships that are legally recognized as privileged, such as those with lawyers, physicians, and ministers; religious practices, affiliations, or beliefs; or income, unless otherwise specified by law.
• 9. The right to timely notice by the child’s school, through a process consistent with school policy, of when a controversial subject will be taught or discussed in the child’s classroom. The bill defines “controversial subject” as a subject of substantial public debate, disagreement, or disapproval and specifies that the term includes instruction about gender identity, sexual orientation, racial identity, structural, systemic, or institutional racism, or content that is not age-appropriate.
• 10. The right to opt out of a class or instructional materials at the child’s school for reasons based on either religion or personal conviction.
• 11. The right to visit the child at school during school hours, consistent with school policy, unless otherwise specified by law or court order.
• 12. The right to engage with locally elected school board members of the school district in which the child is a student in accordance with school district policy, including by participating at regularly scheduled school board meetings.
• 13. The right to be notified of the creation of or updates to a security or surveillance system at the child’s school, not including routine maintenance.
• 14. The right to be informed by the child’s school, in accordance with school policy, of any disciplinary action taken against the child. This includes suspension, expulsion, seclusion, physical restraint, or removal from class.
• 15. The right to be timely informed of any acts of violence or crimes occurring on grounds of the child’s school.
• 16. The right to receive accurate and individual information from the child’s school at least two times per year regarding the academic proficiency and classroom behavior of the child.

The bill had over a dozen organizations, including several educational groups, the ACLU, and the State Bar of Wisconsin, register against it. Three organizations, including the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, which lobbied 39 hours on the issue, supported the bill, according to the Wisconsin Ethics Commission.

The ACLU of Wisconsin said that the bill “mandates the forced outing, misgendering, and deadnaming of trans and nonbinary students in Wisconsin schools and imposes widespread classroom censorship of pivotal subjects like systemic racism, racial and gender identity, and sexual orientation.”

“While parents in Wisconsin have a constitutional right to make decisions about their children’s education – like whether to send their kids to public or private school and many other examples protected under statute and case law – Assembly Bill 510, also known as the ‘parental bill of rights,’ has nothing to do with these protected parental rights,” Amanda Merkwae, Advocacy Director at the ACLU of Wisconsin, said in a release. “This bill disguises classroom censorship as parental rights, enabling politicians to require the forced outing, misgendering, and deadnaming of trans and nonbinary students. It also inhibits educational instruction on race, gender, sexual orientation, and other important topics that impact all of us.”

A Democratic amendment to the bill that would have paid for school lunches was voted down along party lines.

Republicans testified that the bill was “common sense,” calling it a transparent look at public schools, during public hearings.

Opponents said in public hearings that the bill targeted vulnerable students.

A similar bill was vetoed by Gov. Tony Evers in 2022.