Teachers often have to remind their students to walk, “don’t run” as they navigate hallways and outdoor activities. It is meant to keep them safe from injury or mishap. It’s in the best interest of the students and parents understand that. What most parents don’t understand is when a state assembly passes a bill titled, “Support Academic Futures and Educators for Today’s Youth” better known as AB 1955 in the state of California.

A federal “Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act” grants parents “universal” access information about their child in public school. This proposed bill that was signed by Governor Newsom does the opposite.

Sponsors of this bill defend it saying it is designed for the protection of LGBTQ+ students. It also assumes that parents are dangerous and can’t be trusted to handle these kinds of conversations with their children. When the state decides what parents can know about their children or what teachers and school boards can share with parents, we have crossed the line of demarcation.

Having worked in the educational arena in the state of California for 16 years, I am accustomed to rushed committee hearings outside of the normal legislative calendar in order to pass a bill that hopefully no one will notice. Parents across the state are not as dumb as the legislators think they are and neither are most school boards.

This bill will be challenged in court and all of this will cost the taxpayers of California millions of dollars in legal costs and settlements. Ultimately this case may end up on the Supreme Court level.

Regardless of how virtuous the sponsors of this bill believe they are in “saving a life” they are grossly overstepping parental rights. In California, there are already laws in place against discrimination of any kind and mandatory child abuse reporting. This bill is a blatant infringement and unnecessary, not to mention a violation of a federal family educational rights and privacy act.

In response to this bill, if enacted, I would suggest that parents with children in California public schools RUN, Don’t Walk to the nearest state where sanity and common sense are still the rule not the exception.