Parents Bill of Rights
Rapid

In July 2023, Count on Mothers surveyed 277 mothers across 44 states and a broad range of political ideologies to understand parental views on the Parents Bill of Rights (H.R.5). Mothers responded based on their first-hand experience with public education and family decision-making. The aggregated findings were shared with Congressional legislators to inform deliberations on policies affecting children and families. Overall, mothers across political backgrounds showed strong agreement on many core provisions of the bill, while expressing mixed views on several specific implementation measures.

July 31, 2023
Related themes:

Shared Priorities and Cross-Partisan Alignment Among Mothers

  • Broad cross-partisan participation:
    The survey included mothers from 44 states and across the political spectrum, providing a geographically and ideologically diverse perspective on the Parents Bill of Rights.
  • Strong alignment on parental participation:
    Mothers across political ideologies overwhelmingly agreed that parents should have the right to participate in School Board meetings.
  • Consensus on parental consent for medical care:
    Mothers strongly agreed that parental consent should be required before school employees conduct medical examinations or screenings of children, with timely notification in emergency situations.
  • Variation on implementation details:
    Mothers’ views diverged on four provisions of the bill, including the requirement for a curriculum and book review comment period every three weeks, indicating less consensus on certain operational aspects.
  • Value of lived experience:
    Mothers’ responses reflect their first-hand experiences navigating schools and highlight areas of agreement as well as complexity in how parental rights policies are implemented.

In July 2023, 277 mothers from 44 states and a cross-section of political ideology completed the survey and shared their views on the "Parents Bill of Rights," (H.R.5). We take this aggregate data and share it with Congressional legislators so they are educated while deliberating over bills that can affect children and families. Mothers share their views based on their first-hand experience with the issues the bill seeks to address.

Count on Mothers is committed to representing mothers of all political ideologies on issues. Overall, mothers – across political ideologies - overwhelmingly agreed on most of the components of the "Parents Bill of Rights" (addendums to The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965). Specifically, mothers agreed that parents must have the right to participate in School Board meetings, and their consent must be required prior to school employees providing a medical examination/ screening to their child (or be informed soon after in case of an emergency). On four components, including requiring a curriculum/book comment period every 3 weeks, mothers' views varied and were not in agreement.

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