While this might make Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe uncomfortable, a new bill advancing in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives will give parents better insight into what their children will be learning in school. Parents who have students in public schools would gain access to their children’s school curriculum, according to the bill. Important details of students’ curriculum such as lesson plans, textbook titles, and topics of discussion would be posted for parents to access through their computers, according to the new legislation in the Pennsylvania House.
The bill was approved on Tuesday by the House Education Committee with a 15-10 vote along party lines — all Democrats casting the dissenting votes. It should be concerning to everyone that not one Democrat voted for this bill. The immediate question is why aren’t Democrats in favor of transparency in Pennsylvania’s schools?
House Bill No. 1332 would necessitate such parental accessibility. The bill would amend the state’s Public School Code of 1949 by adding a section that states:
The bill is sponsored by Dauphin County Republican Rep. Andrew Lewis. While some school districts already do such things, Lewis’ bill would ensure that it would be universally applied across the state. It would require all of the school districts in Pennsylvania, its charter schools, career and technology centers, and intermediate units to post the required items for parents to see.
“Different school districts will put in maybe a broad lesson plan or a general curriculum overview but this kind of gets to what textbooks are being used and it’s a resource parents would have,” Lewis said.
Lewis wants parents to “have this information at their fingertips instead of having to drive down to the school board.” He describes the legislation as a transparency bill. And, as public schools have embraced radical, toxic, left wing philosophies such as critical race theory, this transparency is sorely needed. Left unchecked and in the hands of far-left school boards, public schools have the potential to evolve from where students go to learn reading, writing, and arithmetic to being indoctrination centers of radical left wing thought.
Lewis’s bill should be applauded and is a good first step in reforming education. However, more must be done. For example, what happens if parents find subject matter they disagree with? Does any protocol exist to challenge such topics? Next, parental involvement in their children’s school lives is important, and if parents are not following what is happening, all the transparency in the world will not mean a thing.
