Today Senate Democrats approved a bill aimed at gutting the Parents’ Bill of Rights – a people’s initiative to the Legislature adopted last year, which is meant to prevent the state from interfering with the relationship between parents and their children.

Sen. Jim McCune called the bill an attack on the rights of parents and voters and took to the Senate floor to oppose the bill.

“Parents across the state are sick and tired of their God-given rights being eroded by this Legislature. Senate Bill 5181 unravels the parental rights initiative – there’s no doubt about that,” said McCune, R-Graham and a member of the Senate Early Learning & K-12 Education Committee.

“My heart goes out to parents who have children in the public schools today. They have a right to be informed about the health and well-being of their children. School officials trying to usurp the rights of parents is flat-out wrong. The state does not belong in the middle of the parent-child relationship.”

SB 5181 would remove parents’ right to know medical information, including:

• Prior notification when medical services are offered (except in emergencies);
• Notification when medical services or medication could impact health insurance; and,
• Notification when school-arranged medical treatment results in follow-up care.

It also contains an emergency clause, which would eliminate the constitutional right of voters to challenge the bill through a referendum. Democrats rejected a Republican amendment to remove the language from the bill.

McCune called the inclusion of an emergency clause a “slap in the face of voters that undermines democratic processes and limits the opportunity for public input on such a significant policy change.”

Senate Republicans offered several amendments aimed at defending parental rights, succeeding with proposals to ensure immediate parental notification regarding specific medical- and crime-related actions.

An amendment offered by McCune to clarify the ability of parents to challenge violations of the Parents’ Bill of Rights in court was rejected by the majority Democrats.

McCune says that the bill language goes a step too far and could lead parents to believe that they may not file lawsuits against schools or challenge violations of the Parents’ Bill of Rights created by I-2081.

“A court would be hard-pressed to find an implied private right of action based off the wording in this bill,” explained McCune. “My amendment would have removed that language and restored the ability of parents to seek justice. While there is no express private right of action in the parental-rights initiative, my amendment would have simply allowed courts to find that there is an implied private right of action if parents successfully presented such an argument.”

SB 5181, which passed the Senate by a vote of 30-19, now goes to the House of Representatives for its consideration.

“Parents who care about this issue must make their voices heard in the House committee hearings that are likely to occur,” McCune added. “I urge my colleagues in the House to listen to the people and respect the rights of parents.”