Ohio’s New Parental Rights Law Protects Students And Educators

As the saying goes these days, nature is healing. Aside from the waning of woke culture and the renewed hope Americans have in the future, state leaders are finally restoring parental rights in public education, most notably in Ohio.

Recently, the Buckeye State’s legislature passed the Parents’ Bill of Rights that would require school officials to (1) notify parents about any “sexually explicit materials” and give parents permission to “request alternative instruction”; (2) inform parents about any “healthcare services” being provided along with changes that arise; (3) communicate all important mental or physical health information to parents “unless that disclosure would result in abuse, abandonment, or neglect”; and (4), address any parental concerns with the wellbeing of their children.

In practice, this means that educators would need to let parents know if they are teaching content that touches on sexual themes and offer alternatives if this conflicts with the judgment of the parents. Presumably, school and classroom libraries would have to maintain age-appropriate collections and remove pornographic literature and any other objectionable material.

Moreover, counselors and nurses will need to be transparent in what they diagnose and prescribe for students. If a student is pregnant or has an STD, or if she suffers from gender dysphoria, or if she engages in any form of self-harm, the parents need to know about it. No longer would school employees be compelled to keep secrets in the interest of somehow supporting students.

As with many other issues, leftist critics would likely argue that this kind of thing doesn’t actually happen, and if it does, it’s fine anyway. After all, public employees are certified professionals whose expertise should be respected above that of parents. If Gender Queer encourages the kids to read and helps them with their self-esteem, and it’s merely one choice among many, then librarians should just leave it on the shelf. If a boy wants to change his name and identify as a lesbian woman, it should be duly celebrated and no one should inform his likely ignorant and intolerant parents.

Underlying this reasoning is a commitment to queer ideology. Although the text of the Ohio law doesn’t specifically target “gender” or sexual identity, the prohibition of unapproved sexual materials and instruction neutralizes most queer messaging. How would counselors and teachers talk about being gay, nonbinary, or transgender if they can’t talk about sex? How can a YA writer tell a story of coming out of the closet without describing sexual experiences and becoming pornographic?

At some level, the pro-LGBT camp understands that sexual explicitness and secrecy go hand in hand with spreading queer ideology; eliminating one means eliminating the other. If children go back to learning about the birds and the bees from their heterosexual parents, then the LGBT community stands to lose popular support and could possibly return to what it was before the sexual revolution became curricular policy in public schools.

As for (nonideological) parents and educators, Ohio’s law should come as a relief. In my own experience, I’ve never felt comfortable with the idea of keeping secrets for kids and fortunately never had to do so. Sure, a few students were outspoken about identifying as gay or transgender, but their parents usually knew about this and there wasn’t a need to make a point about it. I only cared about their reading and writing ability — which is more interesting anyway than how they presented themselves.

Sadly, other teachers have not been so lucky. Beyond what has been reported in the news, I’ve heard stories of teachers being reprimanded, suspended, or not having their contracts renewed because they refused to use a student’s pronouns or harbored reservations about an LGBT student’s behavior. And I’m aware that some schools effectively swear employees to secrecy if a student is sexually active or suffering from mental illness. The assumption in all these cases is that parents are dumb and won’t properly support their children’s choices. 

So yes, a state law is necessary not only to protect students from being manipulated and groomed but also to protect teachers and counselors from being punished for telling parents the truth about what they’re seeing. That’s why every other state should follow Ohio’s example and create similar laws. Despite what the other side might claim, raising and educating children in today’s world is a big job that requires everyone involved to be on the same side and trust one another.

Auguste Meyrat is an English teacher in the Dallas area. He is the founding editor of The Everyman, a senior contributor to The Federalist, and has written essays for Newsweek, The American Mind, The American Conservative, Religion and Liberty, Crisis Magazine, and elsewhere. Follow him on X and Substack.