GOP House passes Parents Bill of Rights Act, fulfills top priority in Commitment to America pledge

The House on Friday passed the Parents Bill of Rights Act, a key part of the Commitment to America pledge by Republicans who now control the chamber.

The measure passed 213-208.

"Empowering parents and promoting the well-being of children is a top priority of the House Republican majority," House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said when the bill was formally introduced earlier this month. "That's why the Parents Bill of Rights was a critical piece of the House Republican Commitment to America."

The legislation aims to ensure parents have the "right to know what's being taught in schools and to see reading material" and right to be heard at school board meetings, according the the GOP House.

However, the bill faces an uphill challenge of passage in the Democrat-controlled Senate.

The bill also includes the right to view the public school budget and spending as well as the "right to protect their child’s privacy" and be "updated on any violent activity at school."

"In the face of the woke agenda and radical [critical race theory], the Far Left is pushing even in the midst of the devastating learning loss," said House GOP Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik, a New York Republican. "We are ensuring parents have the transparency to know if their child is being properly equipped in the classroom."

The National Education Association is among the groups opposed to the legislation.

The group said McCarthy "would rather seek to stoke racial and social division and distract us from what will really help our students thrive: an inspiring, inclusive, and age-appropriate curriculum that prepares each and every one of them for their future."