Five Republicans Break With McCarthy and Vote Against Parents Bill of Rights

“The House of Representatives passed the Parents Bill of Rights Act on Friday, advancing a key legislative priority of the chamber’s Republican majority,” the Washington Examiner reported today.

The bill included an array of measures forcing schools to share information with parents. Many parents, particularly conservative parents, have become increasingly unhappy with the growing politicization and secrecy in public school classrooms and curriculums, and the bill’s passage is considered a victory for parents wanting transparency and some say in their children’s education and safety. It consequently was labeled the “Politics over Parents Act” by Democrats.

The bill passed 213-208 despite receiving “nay” votes from 5 Republican lawmakers: Reps. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Ken Buck (R-CO), Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Mike Lawler (R-NY) and Matt Rosendale (R-MT). No such diversity presented itself among Democratic lawmakers, who opposed it unanimously.

“We believe parents should be able to know when your children is learning, know [how] your tax dollars are being spent, and whether your child is safe in school,” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said — as reported by the Washington Examiner — ahead of the vote. “And that’s exactly what the Parents Bill of Rights does.”

(If the Examiner’s reporting is accurate, McCarthy’s comment would be reminiscent of former President George W. Bush’s famous educational utterance: “Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?”)

Critics reacted strongly to a part of the bill requiring transparency pertaining to transgender matters.

“It’s part of a pattern of attempts we’re seeing where the right wing of the Republican Party is really trying to marginalize LGBTQ people,” said David Stacy, the government affairs director for the Human Rights Campaign.

The “T” in LGBTQ stands for “trans”; the other letters do not, however, which is more or less the point of the LGBTQ-etc. moniker, so it is unclear why Stacy used this language.

Aside from McCarthy’s possible minor solecism, the bill’s passage is considered a victory for House Republicans and demonstrates that McCarthy can muster a majority against a close Democratic minority voting in lockstep. The bill itself, however, will move to the Senate where it is expected to languish.