Parental rights movement

The parental rights movement is a socially conservative political movement aimed at restricting schools' ability to teach or practice certain viewpoints on gender, sexuality and race without parental consent.[1][2][3]

One of the aims of the movement is to prevent schools from using the preferred pronouns or chosen names of transgender and non-binary youth without disclosing to, or gaining permission from parents.[4] More broadly, it aims to prevent the teaching of LGBT issues in public schools without parents' agreement.[2] Additionally, the parental rights movement has sought to increase parents' control over how children are taught about sexuality and race relations.[2]

The parental rights movement was brought to mainstream attention with the passage of the Parental Rights in Education Act in Florida, colloquially known as the Don't Say Gay law, by Governor Ron DeSantis. Since then, the movement has expanded across the US and Canada.[5][6] Proponents of the movement have claimed that they aim to prevent the indoctrination of children by LGBT activists,[4][7] while opponents of the movement argue that parental rights legislation endangers children by possibly outing them to unaccepting guardians.[8][9][10]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Bouie-2023 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b c Alfonseca, Kiara; Kekatos, Mary (September 14, 2023). "Debate over 'parental rights' is the latest fight in the education culture wars". ABC News. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  3. ^ Benchetrit, Jenna (September 23, 2023). "Where did the term 'parental rights' come from?". CBC News. Retrieved October 29, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Mulligan, Cynthia (September 11, 2023). "Ford weighs in on boards telling parents about children's pronouns amid Greenbelt scandal". City News. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
  5. ^ Benchetrit, Jenna (April 4, 2023). "How the parental rights movement resurged in response to trans inclusivity in classrooms". CBC. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
  6. ^ Mosleh, Omar (July 30, 2023). "As two provinces limit pronoun changes in schools, what actually are parents' — and kids' — rights?". Toronto Star. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Cohen-2023 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Alam, Hina (June 12, 2023). "New Brunswick child advocate offers critique of province's school LGBTQ policy". Toronto Star. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
  9. ^ Wamsley, Laurel (October 21, 2022). "What's in the so-called Don't Say Gay bill that could impact the whole country". NPR. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
  10. ^ Taylor, Stephanie (August 31, 2023). "Saskatchewan, New Brunswick naming changes means 'life or death' for trans kids: Ien". Toronto Star. Retrieved September 13, 2023.