Senate GOP package pushes to provide curriculum to parents

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota Senate Republicans introduced a “Parents Bill of Rights” legislative package on Monday they say would empower parents by giving them more access to curriculum at their children's schools, mirroring a nationwide GOP push for curriculum transparency.

The package consists of bills that would require schools to have a system for notifying parents of activities at school and prevent schools from withholding information about their child's wellbeing or education, require access to class syllabi for parents within the first two weeks of the start of classes and provide all instruction materials without cost to parents who request them for review.

A proposal to prevent school boards from requiring that parents disclose their home address before speaking at a meeting and another that would fund an “education savings account” that would help pay for private tutoring or alternative schooling are also in the package.

“The main goal here is to get parents and schools engaged together, to affirmatively and absolutely recognize that parents are part of this process,” said Republican Senate Education Chairman Roger Chamberlain. “We want a partnership between parents and educators and we want it to be fruitful and productive for the ultimate benefit of the children.”

Current statute requires school districts to have a process to allow parents to request instructional materials for review and make reasonable arrangements for alternative learning options should the parent object.

The package resembles curriculum transparency legislation appearing at statehouses across the country, including in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina and West Virginia. The bills — which surfaced amid last year’s increased political derision...