Holding the Line on Parental Rights in California

Parents demonstrate at a school board meeting amid controversy surrounding school curriculum in Temecula, Calif., on June 13, 2023. (Micaela Ricaforte/The Epoch Times)

Parents, where do you draw the line? Do you want to be in control of the upbringing of your children, or are you willing to turn those responsibilities over to the state? How much ground are you willing to cede to a capricious government bent on eliminating your God-given rights as a parent? Erosions to parental authority that seemed bold even a few years ago are now standard fare.

Section 51100 of the California Education Code used to be non-controversial: “It is essential to our democratic form of government that parents and guardians of schoolage children attending public schools and other citizens participate in improving public education institutions. Specifically, involving parents and guardians of pupils in the education process is fundamental to a healthy system of public education.”

Our courts have repeatedly affirmed the rights that parents have over their children. In Prince v. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 321 U.S. 158 (1944), the United States Supreme Court stated, “It is cardinal with us that the custody, care and nurture of the child reside first in the parents, whose primary function and freedom include preparation for obligations the state can neither supply nor hinder. ... It is in recognition of this that these decisions have respected the private realm of family life which the state cannot enter.”

Fathers and mothers are increasingly being tested on how much control they have over the upbringing of their children. The California legislature is aggressively shepherding anti-parent bills through its chambers this summer. Here are a few every parent should monitor.

Assembly Bill 5 by Assemblyman Rick Chavez Zbur (D-West Hollywood) would require LGBTQ training for public school teachers and staff. Seemingly innocuous at first blush, this bill is a part of the constellation of legislation seeking to normalize sexualized conversations between teachers and students outside of what was previously limited to sex education classes. Imagine if teachers were required to take a course on how to talk about faith and religion?

Assembly Bill 598 by Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland) would require school districts to participate in the California Healthy Kids Survey where sexuality is a core survey module. The bill’s author believes we need to overcome a “cultural aversion to discussing abortion and educating our youth about comprehensive care.” While parents would be allowed to opt out of the survey, school districts would be prohibited from providing an opt-in policy for parents.

Assembly Bill 665 by Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo (D-Los Angeles) would allow minors 12 and older to consent to mental health treatment or residential shelter services beyond the stringent standards of abuse or danger currently in place. Lowering the threshold for mental health counselors and then providing them with unfettered control of children age 12 and above is a recipe for societal disaster. The proposal affords no real due process to parents before their child is removed from them on vague criteria undefined in the bill.

Child custody proceedings are about to get more difficult. Assembly Bill 957 by Assemblywoman Lori Wilson (D-Suisun City) would leverage a child’s mental and emotional trauma as it pertains to their sexual development by requiring a judge to consider a parent’s affirmation of the child’s gender identity in a custody dispute. Parents having to deal with a failed marriage is one thing, but pushing those parents to consent to their child receiving puberty blockers or invasive surgeries to remove sexual organs as a condition of having visitation rights is a whole other level.

Senate Bill 407 by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) would dramatically reduce options for many LGBTQ foster youth if an otherwise loving family will not affirm their sexual identities or put other children in compromising situations. Many grandparents may be denied the opportunity to raise a grandchild simply because of their religious beliefs.

A number of school boards are complying with the state's new ethnic studies and “inclusivity” requirements without adopting decidedly radical textbooks. This has angered progressive activists, who are now pushing for Assembly Bill 1078 by Corey Jackson (D-Perris) to micromanage local school boards’ stewardship over district curricula and strip school board trustees of their constitutional rights. This measure would also deprive parents of an accessible appeals process when texts are chosen that are inconsistent with the community’s values.

And to further polarize school boards, Assembly Bill 1352 by Assemblywoman Mia Bonta (D-Oakland) was recently gutted and amended to allow a governing board to remove a duly elected member from office if they disagree with their votes. The bill is likely on hold for this year, but parents should be aware that it will come back in 2024.

It is incumbent upon citizens to speak out and urge their family, friends and neighbors to push back. While calls to legislators are helpful, start locally. Connect with the local PTA and school board and see if they have positions on these issues that align with the community’s values. Talk to your religious leaders and fellow congregants. Conduct discussions in your service clubs and neighborhood associations. See if your city councilors and county supervisors have opined on these issues. Their leadership matters.

What is not fought for is ceded. Are you ready to hold the line?

This article was originally published in The Epoch Times on July 7, 2023.

Lance Christensen is the Vice President of Education Policy and Government Affairs at the California Policy Center and former candidate for State Superintendent of Public Instruction.