Kansas Parents Could Opt Kids Out of LGBT Lessons After Bill Passes

Parents in Kansas could be able to remove their children from lessons on LGBT topics after lawmakers passed a bill on Thursday.

If enacted, House Bill 2236 will allow parents to choose an alternate activity for their K–12 children if they decide lessons don’t align with their “sincerely held beliefs, values, or principles.”

The majority GOP state House passed the bill in a 76–46 vote. It passed the state Senate last week and will now go to the desk of Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat.

Parental rights have been strengthened in a number of states through legislation aimed at pervasive left-wing ideologies being taught in classrooms across the country. Such lessons, which often focus on LGBT topics and critical race theory (CRT), have been deemed “indoctrination” mostly by conservative lawmakers and advocates.

CRT is a highly contentious left-wing theory that holds that white people are inherently “privileged” and that non-white people are inherently oppressed. Critics of CRT note that it has its origins in the political thought of Karl Marx, the ideological founder of communism. The theory has also been criticized as racist for its efforts to reduce the individual to a member of a group on the basis of their skin color.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, has led the charge with parental rights legislation, banning topics on gender identity and CRT from being taught in kindergarten through the third grade. Recently proposed legislation might see that expanded to 12th grade.

The last few years have seen pushback by parents concerned about these ideologies being taught in classrooms. Among the issues raised at school board meetings are classroom lessons on sexual orientation, gender identity, CRT, and sexually explicit books being available by young children.

Kansas Bill

According to the text of the Kansas bill (pdf), parents would be able to object to things their kids are being taught in school if it’s not part of the school curriculum or state educational standards.

If parents don’t want their kids exposed to materials or activities they feel might impair their religious values, the school district must let them take their children out of the class without it affecting their academic record.

When parents opt their child out, the student will need to complete an alternative assignment in order to obtain the required credits and attendance hours for graduation.

The bill states that if a particular activity clashes with a parent’s beliefs or values, the school must find a suitable alternative that everyone can agree on. If it’s possible, the student can stay in the class, but if not, the school will provide some extra help to make sure they don’t fall behind in their studies.

Under this bill, every school district’s board of education will have to create policies that protect parents’ rights to direct their child’s education. These should make sure that the law is properly followed, and they should include specific instructions for how to implement its provisions.

National ‘Parental Bill of Rights’

At a national level, Republicans are pursuing a “parental bill of rights,” which passed the U.S. House of Representatives on March 24.

That bill, known as H.R. 5, was proposed by Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). The bill has several provisions, all aimed at making sure parents are aware of what’s happening in their children’s classrooms.

The bill’s primary focus is to ensure that parents are aware of what their children are being taught in school. It proposes that schools must publicly disclose the contents of their curriculum and library materials so that parents can be informed about what is being taught to their children.

Currently, some schools teach radical ideologies without parents’ knowledge. The bill also establishes the right of parents to view their children’s school expenditures.

The bill was created in response to COVID-19 restrictions that led many parents to see firsthand what their children were learning in the classroom via online learning. Some parents were surprised to find that far-left ideology was being promoted, and this led to nationwide protests at school board meetings.

The protests were framed by the National School Boards Association in a letter to President Joe Biden as “domestic terrorism and hate crimes.” The association claimed the country’s “public schools and its education leaders are under an immediate threat” from these parents who were concerned about what was being taught to their kids.

Attorney General Merrick Garland was caught in an Oct. 4, 2021, memo offering federal resources and legal aid to states to fight back. Since that memo came to light, McCarthy has vowed to deliver legislation to ensure that parents’ control over their children’s education is legally protected.

Joseph Lord contributed to this report.