AUSTIN, TX - JUNE 08: Texas Governor Greg Abbott listens during a press conference at the Texas State Capitol in Austin, Texas on June 8, 2021. Abbott signed Senate bills 2 and 3 into law to reform the Electric Reliability Council of Texas and weatherize and improve the reliability of the state's power grid. The bill signing comes months after a disastrous February winter storm that created widespread power outages and left dozens of Texans dead. (Photo by Montinique Monroe/Getty Images)
By Theodore Bunker
Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, while speaking in the city of Lewisville on Thursday, promised to pursue a “parental bill of rights” if he wins reelection.
He made the announcement at an event hosted by the Founders Classical Academy.
“No government program can replace the role that parents play in the education of their children,” Abbott said, according to the Washington Examiner. “Our focal point is to ensure that parents are put at the forefront, both of education of their children as well as the decision-making for their child’s healthcare.”
Last June, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation approving a parents bill of rights. Abbott said this week that Texas parents would have the ability to control decisions about school curriculums and to choose whether or not a student has to repeat a grade.
“Under the parental bill of rights, we will amend the Texas Constitution to make clear that parents are the primary decision-makers in all manners involving their children,” Abbott said.
Bill Bennett, the former U.S. secretary of education, said in remarks delivered virtually that “Not every teacher is a parent, but every parent is a teacher. We know that the parent’s influence on the child is the greatest influence of any adult … we need to restore the priority of the parent to the classroom and to the child’s education, which is what you are doing.”
