The Ohio Senate approved a measure barring schools from teaching controversial sexual-oriented content.
The Senate voted 24-7 to pass House Bill 8, the Parents’ Bill of Rights, sending the measure to Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, who indicated he would sign the measure. It was sponsored by state Reps. D.J. Swearingen, R-Huron, and Sara Carruthers, R-Hamilton.
“I’m encouraged that the Governor signed the Protect All Students Act, often referred to as ‘The Bathroom Bill’, in spite of massive pressure from Leftist orgs," said state Rep. Beth Lear, R-Galena. "That gives me hope he will support a bill that protects the rights of parents to have the ultimate authority over their children’s health and religion. It’s a simple, time-honored and proven view that parents, not government, are in the best position to decide how their children should be raised and it’s good for Ohio to recognize this in law during these crazy times."
The bill bars schools and third parties acting on behalf of a district or school from teaching "sexuality content" to K-3 students. It mandates schools develop and adopt parental notification and review policies for "sexuality-related content" and student health care, such as counseling services or monitoring related to mental, emotional, or physical health.
It also prevents personnel from encouraging students to withhold information about their health or well-being from their parents. Under the measure, schools and districts must make the policies public and post them on their websites if they have one.
“Schools should not have the broad authority to keep secret information about someone else’s child,” Cincinnati.com quoted state Sen. Andrew Brenner, R-Delaware, as saying.
Critics have derided the measure, saying it resembles Florida’s misnamed “Don’t Say Gay” law, which lawmakers in the Sunshine State passed in 2022. The Florida measure sparked a legal challenge, and as part of a settlement, students and teachers can discuss gender orientation and sexual identity if it is not part of a formal course, according to reports.
"All the Parents Bill of Rights in Education does [is] force the schools to create a policy that would force them to address [and] notify parents which they already should be doing but sadly are not," Kathleen Beyer, owner of Mean Street News, said in prepared testimony to the Senate Education committee this month. "If the administration does not address issues the parent, then has some recourse with their local board of education. To establish my rights as a parent now I must sue the school district for violating my due process rights under the 14th Amendment."
The bill also requires school districts to permit students to be excused to attend a released time religious instruction course conducted by an off-site private entity. Under current law, schools are permitted to allow students such an excuse.
It also establishes a process for resolving parents’ concerns about topics addressed in the bill.
"This bill will not fix the entire issue, but it will give parents a way to force their districts to inform them of their child’s mental, emotional, and physical health or well-being. Which no teacher or administrator should be against," Beyer added. "A parent is the ultimate authority in the child’s life, a teacher is a stranger that they will know for a year, if they are against informing parents they should not be working with children."
Troy McIntosh, the executive director of the Ohio Christian Education Network, told lawmakers earlier this year that parents should "have the fundamental right to make decisions regarding the upbringing, care, and education of their child" in a free society.
"This would seem to be a non-controversial idea that would engender broad bi-partisan support," McIntosh said in prepared testimony. "Even in a broken world in which some children are not provided the inherent benefits of biological parents in their lives, this principle still serves the best interest of every child.
"Finally, none of these provisions are burdensome to schools," McIntosh added. "As someone who spent 24 years in that space, I can say that with confidence. And even if it were a minor burden, it is one which ought to be incumbent on those to take up to high calling of educating the children of others who live in their communities. The benefits of doing so far outweigh any cost."
