What Is Parental Rights Extremism?
Parental rights extremism is a movement that seeks to give parents more control over what their children learn in school. These groups often believe that schools are indoctrinating children with liberal values. And they want to restrict the teaching of sex education, LGBTQ+ rights, and critical race theory.
As a reminder, critical race theory is not being taught in any public schools K thru 12. Critical race theory is a dog whistle for racism used by parental rights extremists, republican politicians, and their white evangelical Christian nationalist billionaire backers.
These people and their actions are not Christian or related to Christianity. They hide behind the words Christian and Christianity to push their extreme agenda on other people. Even kids.
Also, as a reminder, parents already have the right to know what’s going on in public schools and how their children are being educated.
What Do Parental Rights Extremists Do?
Parental rights extremists often use inflammatory language and rhetoric to make their case. They may call teachers “groomers” or “indoctrinators,” and they may accuse schools of being “woke.” They may also try to intimidate teachers and school administrators by threatening them with lawsuits or protests.
They don’t ever talk about the real groomers. They go after marginalized communities, like low-income families, Black families, and parents who are trans. We need to combat the fear-mongering from these people. We need to highlight their hypocrisy. Kids’ lives are literally at stake.
Parental rights extremism is a threat to public education. It can make it difficult for teachers to do their jobs, it contributes to teachers leaving the profession, and it can create a climate of fear and hostility in schools. It is important to be aware of this movement and to speak out against it.
Other Identifiers Include:
- Look for groups that are trying to restrict the teaching of certain topics in schools.
- Be wary of groups that are motivated by religious beliefs or political ideology.
- Pay attention to groups that are using inflammatory language or rhetoric.
What Can We Do About Parental Rights Extremism
Here are some things you can do to help counter parental rights extremism:
- Get informed. Read about the latest developments in parental rights extremism and how it is affecting schools. You can set up Google Alerts on words related to parental rights extremism to capture and review any news about the topic.
- Get involved. Volunteer your time to support public education or to oppose parental-rights extremism.
- Be vocal. Speak out against parental rights extremism in your community and online.
- Stay calm and respectful when engaging with these groups. Often, they try to accomplish their goals by yelling and name-calling, bullying, and bigotry. Don’t fall prey to doing the same.
- Make sure students have access to important information.
- Attend or watch your school board meetings online to keep up to date about parental rights extremism.
- Donate to groups who are working against parental rights extremism.
By taking these steps, you can help to ensure that all children have access to quality education, regardless of their background or beliefs.
Here’s a good resource: Parental Rights Extremism Messaging Guide from the Coalition for Responsible Home Education.