In line with a little-known 1974 law, parents have the opportunity to examine public school curricula and opt-out of ubiquitous questionnaires employed by third-party contractors. According to The Washington Examiner, America First Legal, a conservative legal organization, is offering parents a guide to using the provisions of the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment, a largely unknown law passed in 1974 and most recently updated in 2002, to view and expose critical race theory (CRT) and other controversial curricula. “The Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment, 20 U.S.C. 1232h, is one critical — but previously underutilized — instrument for holding administrators and teachers responsible,” according to the book.
The legislation has been “on the books for decades,” according to Gene Hamilton, general counsel and vice president of America First Legal, and it “truly gives parents with the capacity to access information at a level that we don’t think they’re aware of right now,” according to The Washington Examiner. According to the law, public schools that receive federal funding must disclose to parents “any instructional material used as part of the educational curriculum for the student” and “for inspection” must provide “all instructional materials, including teacher’s manuals, films, tapes, or other supplementary material which will be used in connection with any survey, analysis, or evaluation as part of any applicable program.”
Hamilton noted, implying that parents will have to go out of their way to use their statutory rights. “The federal legislation imposes no duty on the school system to widely distribute the curriculum or to act constructively or proactively — it functions on an ask-and-ye-shall-receive approach,” one expert adds. The part mandating survey materials disclosure is especially significant, according to the America First Legal Handbook, since “some school districts have employed survey and data-mining businesses.” Critical race theory in public schools contends that American institutions and culture are structurally racist and oppressive of racial minorities, notably Black people. School boards, superintendents, administrators, and teachers are all experiencing difficulties as a result of CRT.
“If parents are involved and oppose, then no [such] material should be imposed on children,” the document states. “However, if parents remain disengaged and mute, the PPRA and other laws are rendered ineffectual.” Parents who attempt to use the PPRA may meet opposition from school officials, according to Hamilton, because most schools are likely unaware of their duties under the act. If a school refuses to obey the law, parents can submit a complaint with the US Department of Education, which has the authority to “terminate a school’s federal funding if the institution has broken the law and refuses to voluntarily comply,” according to the guidance. A complaint of this type must be submitted within 180 days following a violation.
