Ohio’s new Parents’ Bill of Rights takes effect in a week. It gives parents more control over what their children are exposed to at school in an effort to counter wokeism.
The sweeping K-12 legislation has far-reaching ramifications for school districts, particularly when it comes to sexual and religious content.
The law takes effect April 9 and districts have until July 1 to implement most newly required policies. Religious instruction policies are required by next Wednesday.
“Parents don’t sign away their rights when their son or daughter goes to school, they have every right to know what is going on inside the classroom,” Senate Republicans spokesperson John Fortney said in this NBC 4 News report. “There is absolutely no reason for information to be concealed from responsible parents, and attempts to do otherwise have questionable if not predatory motives.”
House Bill 8 includes several new provisions that prioritize parents’ rights in education:
· Allows parents to opt their students out of “sexuality content.”
· Any content that depicts “sexual concepts or gender ideology” must be age-appropriate and made available for parent review.
· Prohibits teaching sexuality content to students in kindergarten through third grade.
· Requires educators to notify parents of changes in their children’s well-being, including any requests for students to be referred to with names or pronouns that vary from the student’s biological sex.
· Requires districts to list all health care they provide, including state-required care, at the start of each school year.
· Allows parents to review health care practices, including care for mental and behavioral health, and opt-out of their children.
· Requires public schools to adopt a policy permitting religious release time, or excused absences for students who attend religious instruction during the school day.
Under the Parents’ Bill of Rights, districts must allow students to be released for religious instruction during the school day as long as it occurs off campus with parent permission. Legislators added the requirement when they approved HB 8 in December, no longer allowing districts to opt out of implementing policies, NBC 4 News reports.
Central Ohio school districts have responded to the upcoming deadlines in different ways. Olentangy, Pickerington, and Worthington schools introduced standard compliance policies in March, although Pickerington and Worthington tabled their policies for further review, NBC 4 News reports.
Bexley City Schools amended one policy effective April 9: “Develop age-appropriate and developmentally appropriate lessons for students about gender diversity and acceptance.”
Bexley’s policy complies with HB 8 by not teaching sexuality content to grades K-3. However, the policy reaffirms Bexley’s commitment to welcoming all students regardless of gender identity or expression twice.
With the religious release deadline looming, Worthington and Westerville have reinstated policies rescinded last fall. The districts initially cited concerns that pulling students from the school day would lead to disruptions and distractions.
Worthington introduced several updates to the religious instruction policy. Religious organizations cannot take students out of graded courses. Groups must also provide background checks for all staff working with children and agree not to send students back to school with trinkets or candy, NBC 4 News reports.
Columbus City Schools, the state’s largest district, also enacted background checks and souvenir bans. In March, the district unexpectedly reverted its system to reflect students’ birth names, alerting all parents of any gender or name changes.
Under HB 8, districts must alert parents of gender changes as of July 1. But the bill does not require schools to use birth names or genders, so other districts do not have to follow suit under HB 8, NBC 4 reports.
In January, the governor argued to reporters that the measure would provide a path for parents to be informed about what’s going on in their child’s life. “[Parents are] the first teachers; they’re the best teachers, and that’s very, very important,” DeWine said, noting that he does not see the bill as harming LGBTQ+ students.
