WASHINGTON, D.C. – Recently, Wyoming Representative Harriet Hageman introduced a piece of legislation designed to strengthen parental rights in education and guarantee every parent knows what’s going on in their children’s school. The Parental Oversight and Educational Transparency Act will require an amendment to the General Education Provisions Act which requires parental notification and consent with respect to certain school activities and for other purposes. Introduced by the congresswoman, the bill was then referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce in December. 

“The best way to protect our children is to empower their parents – and that begins with strong parental consent rights,” Hageman’s press release said. 

“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,” the release explained. “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.”

According to the release, the transparency act addresses the ongoing issues by mandating schools provide annual notification at the beginning of the school year. The act also mandates schools 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,” the release explained. 

““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,” the representative commented. 

The act will protect student’s rights and uphold parental authority in education, according to the release. 

“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,” the release explained. “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.”