Third Way Statement on the Danger of H.R. 5 Putting Politics over Parents

WASHINGTON — Third Way released the following statement from Lanae Erickson, Senior Vice President for Social Policy, Education, & Politics:

“This week, the House majority will bring H.R. 5 to the floor under the guise of increasing parental engagement in schools—but its substance would do nothing to advance that goal. Instead, this bill would censor parents, undermine student mental health, ban books from school libraries, redirect resources and personnel away from meeting families’ real needs, and ultimately function as a gag order on teaching and learning across the country.”

“We should be empowering school boards and Parent Teacher Associations to make informed decisions when it comes to their students’ education. This bill would invite Congress to dictate the schedule of parent-teacher conferences and control course instruction in every one of the nearly 100,000 public schools from coast to coast. We should be supporting the well-being of students by increasing access to mental health professionals. This legislation would limit families’ access to crucial mental health services in an era when we know they are needed more than ever. We should be investing in the safety of our students by keeping firearms out of classrooms. This bill would focus only on reporting violence once students have already been hurt or killed.

“Protecting the ability of parents to make the best decisions for their children is a fundamental American value. This proposal is a serious distraction from what our students really need right now: to be learning in an academically challenging and safe environment that engages families and teachers in true partnership to support students.”