Swearingen, Carruthers to Introduce 'Parents' Bill of Rights Act'

State Reps. D.J. Swearingen (R-Huron) and Sara Carruthers (R-Hamilton) will be introducing the “Parents’ Bill of Rights Act,” which will protect and preserve the fundamental role that parents play in the education of their children.

“The focus is to ensure that parents are empowered to be involved in their child’s education both inside and outside the classroom," Swearingen said. "In Ohio, we value parents taking an active role in their child’s life. When parents are involved, their children succeed. When children succeed, the future of Ohio becomes brighter.” 

The legislation will do the following:

• Require schools to draft a policy that promotes parental involvement in their child’s education and honor that policy.
• Notify a parent of a change in their student’s services or monitoring related to the student’s mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being. 
• Prohibit school district personnel from discouraging or prohibiting parental involvement in critical decisions affecting a student’s mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being.

“Many parents across Ohio believe that schools should provide notification and transparency on certain materials prior to instruction and surely should keep parents duly notified when it comes to a student's health records at their school,” Carruthers said. “It’s my goal to have schools and parents work hand-in-hand for the student.”

The bill will also provide notification to parents on each health care service offered at their school and to work with parents on creating a health care plan for each student.

If parents have concerns, the bill establishes a process to file written concerns to be resolved within thirty days. Additionally, the school will notify the parents of their right to file these concerns.

The legislation was filed earlier this week and awaits further action.