Over the past few years, we have witnessed a concerning, unprecedented effort to erode parental rights at all levels of government from local school boards to massive federal agencies, each in its own way.

The matter has not escaped the attention of the 118^th Congress which began  in January of this year. In recent weeks, Family Policy Alliance has shared with you some of the good bills that members have introduced and passed, such as the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act.

Today, we are pleased to update you on important movement on the parental rights front

At the end of March, FPA was present with members of House leadership as the House passed H.R. 5, the Parents Bill of Rights. The bill is led by Rep. Julia Letlow (R-LA) and cosponsored by more than 120 members of the House, including members of the House Republican Leadership-a strong showing for parents!

The Parents Bill of Rights Act would:

• Establish transparency by requiring schools to provide parents with access to curriculum,
• Notify parents of outside speakers invited to address their child,
• Provide notice and consent of any medical examinations, and
• Clarify the rights of parents to inspect any materials provided to their child in the classroom or in the library, among other rights and requirements.

Congress is right to address these roadblocks experienced by parents. H.R. 5 is a positive step in ensuring that parents have full control of their child’s education and upbringing.

Continue to pray for wisdom for our leaders as they defend the rights of parents in the halls of Congress. FPA will continue to fight for your family and keep you updated on what is happening on the ground in Congress!

Stay Tuned,

Ruth Ward
Director, Government Affairs

 

Your daughter says she wants to “transition” to living as a boy. As a wise and loving parent, you graciously but firmly say “no.”

What happens next?

If a new bill becomes law in California, your daughter could flee to California and seek transgender drugs and surgery, getting court protection to do so – all without your consent.

According to California Family Council (our state ally leading the charge against this bill):

“Senator Scott Wiener’s bill, SB 107, would empower California courts to take ‘temporary emergency jurisdiction’ of children if they come to California for trans-drugs, surgery, or mental healthcare. The bill calls these treatments ‘gender-affirming care.’

Courts would also be instructed to ignore the fact that a child has been kidnapped from the parent or parents with legal custody, if the minor comes to the state for gender transitioning.”

All that stands between now and that reality? A governor’s signature. This is a serious threat to parental rights and to the well-being of struggling children across America.

Please sign our open letter to California Governor Gavin Newsom NOW asking him to veto this bill! This is not just a California issue—this is a parents’ issue and this is a child protection issue.

Many times we hear about radical anti-family policies advancing in California. The rest of the nation breathes a sigh of relief that they don’t live in California. Maybe they even live in Arkansas, the first state to bravely stand in the gap for children and prohibit “transitioning” on minors. But if this bill passes in California, it won’t matter where we live. California is brazenly attempting to insert its radical policies into the rest of the nation—even rubber-stamping the kidnapping of your kids for the purpose of dangerous gender transition to do it.

Governor Newsom could sign this any day – time is working against us.

Sign onto our letter NOW – it takes less than a minute, and this is a critical threat to parental rights!

Standing with you,

Craig DeRoche
CEO and President

 

 

 

 

 

A daughter in Arkansas says she wants to “transition” to living as a boy. Her wise and loving parents graciously but firmly say “no.”

What happens next?

If a new bill becomes law in California, that daughter could seek transgender drugs and surgery, getting court protection to do so – all without her parents’ consent.

According to California Family Council (our state ally leading the charge against this bill):

“Senator Scott Wiener’s bill, SB 107, would empower California courts to take ‘temporary emergency jurisdiction’ of children if they come to California for trans-drugs, surgery, or mental healthcare. The bill calls these treatments ‘gender-affirming care.’

Courts would also be instructed to ignore the fact that a child has been kidnapped from the parent or parents with legal custody, if the minor comes to the state for gender transitioning.”

This is a serious threat to parental rights and children’s health and well-being in every state. All that stands between now and that becoming a reality? Our governor’s signature.

Please send a message to California Governor Gavin Newsom NOW and ask him to veto this bill!

Our legislature is determined to make California a gender transition orphanage for the rest of the country—stripping parents in other states of their rightful and protective custody of their children.

Governor Newsom could sign this dangerous bill any day – time is working against us.

Send your message NOW using the form below. It takes less than a minute, and this is a critical threat to parental rights!

Standing with you,

Craig DeRoche
CEO and President

When you’re facing opposition from radical activists and the Biden Administration, you must be doing something right.

This afternoon, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed the Parental Rights in Education bill into law. The new law ensures parents are not kept in the dark about what is happening with their children in schools and protects kids in kindergarten through 3rd grade from sexualized classroom instruction.

And, in the words of John Stemberger, President of Florida Family Policy Council, “The Florida parents rights law is necessary because schools have become places more concerned with indoctrination than they are with education.”

Florida Family Policy Council, our ally in Florida and a trusted voice for parents and families, shepherded the bill through the Florida legislature. We are grateful for their work on this bill, and for Governor DeSantis’s bold leadership in signing this bill in the face of pressure.

If you’ve been following this story, you know that Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Chapek pressured Governor DeSantis to veto the bill – and some LGBT activists both outside and within Disney want the company leadership to go further. In fact, the well-funded and largest LGBT activist organization, the Human Rights Campaign, rejected a $5 Million donation from Disney in an attempt to pressure Disney to do more to oppose Florida’s pro-family bill.

But Disney clearly picked the wrong side in this fight. Not only did Governor DeSantis sign the bill this afternoon, but polling indicates that the law is strongly supported by Floridians – including by Democrat primary voters—and by Americans generally.

Disney leadership weren’t the only ones who missed that memo, though. Today, President Biden put out a tweet clearly targeting the new Florida law. And now the Human Rights Campaign is  raising even more “emergency money” where every dollar is matched to “fight back.”

This activism isn’t limited to Florida. Of course, the Biden Administration and Human Rights Campaign have each committed themselves to an activist agenda across the nation. But now Disney has publicly insinuated that it wishes to “take action” against other states with pro-family laws and has even said that its goal “is for this law to be repealed by the legislature or struck down in the courts.”

TELL DISNEY TO STAND DOWN: sign our open letter!

As a company that caters to families, Disney needs to hear from you that their stance is anti-family and opposed to public values. We’ve sent this open letter to Disney, along with Florida Family Policy Council, and thousands of you have already added your names to it. If you haven’t yet, though, it’s not too late. Disney will keep facing pressure from LGBT activists to oppose good pro-family laws, so they need to keep hearing from you, too.

Sign the letter today.

After you sign the letter, we have more good news from the states: Utah’s legislature just passed a law to protect female athletes in their state, making Utah the 12th state to Save Girls’ Sports!

But the full story is remarkable. After the bill passed the Utah legislature, the Republican Governor vetoed the bill, even in the wake of male Lia Thomas winning a women’s swimming title in the NCAA. But rather than giving up, lawmakers in Utah voted to override the Governor’s veto and make it law anyway!

It’s an inspiring story for Indiana, where the Save Girls’ Sports bill was also vetoed by its Governor (and is awaiting a potential override vote) and for other states still hoping to get similar bills into law this year.

But even more than that, it’s inspiring for each of us who want to see a better, more pro-family America. It’s a reminder that no matter how much the Biden Administration tries to push its radical agenda on America, and no matter how much woke companies rattle their fists and pocketbooks against pro-family laws, they’re out of touch.

The American people are on the side of parents and children, truth and fairness. And when we stand together, those values will win the day.

So, we’re looking ahead with hope. Today, parents and children in Florida are protected. Female athletes in Utah and 11 other states know their state believes in them and stands for fairness in sports. And really, this is only the beginning.

Will you join us?

Meridian Baldacci
Director of Strategy

P.S. Don’t forget to sign our open letter to Disney today!

 

If you haven’t heard yet, here’s what Disney has been up to the last few weeks:

• Trying to donate millions of dollars to an LGBT activist organization
• Pressuring Florida’s governor to veto a pro-parent, pro-child bill in Florida
• Making statements that they will oppose similar bills in other states

At the center of the controversy? A Florida bill that ensures parents know what’s happening with their kids in schools, and protecting kids under age 10 from sexualized instruction at school.

In other words, a company that caters to families believes parents should not know what’s going on with their children at school—and that children under age 8 should receive sexualized instruction at school.

But Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has refused to bow down to this radical agenda.

Join us TODAY to hear from John Stemberger, the leader of Florida’s premier pro-family organization, Florida Family Policy Council. His organization has been at the center of advocating for families in Florida, not only in this bill but across issues. He’ll share what’s going on – and what you can do to help!

You’re Invited

Disney vs. DeSantis: Live with John Stemberger

Join on Facebook LIVE or YouTube

Streaming at 2 pm ET/1 pm CT/12 pm MT/11 am PT

John Stemberger

John Stemberger is President and General Counsel of Florida Family Policy Council, our valued ally in the Sunshine State. John shepherded the “Parental Rights in Education” bill through the Florida legislature and is a longtime friend to Family Policy Alliance and a trusted leader for families in Florida and around the nation.

See you soon on Facebook or YouTube!

Meridian Baldacci
Director, Strategy

P.S. Seeing this late? You can still watch on Facebook or YouTube!

Your support to Family Policy Alliance and the alliance of state family policy councils we host is making family policy THE issue on the ballot.

For decades we have seen our culture decline while the far Left targets our parents and kids. Our parents have been told they don’t matter. They want families to forego the hopes and dreams we have for our children and allow them to be indoctrinated by the divisive and failed ideology of state-controlled thought.

At Family Policy Alliance, we were encouraged by the election results in Virginia and New Jersey. We know that the ground that was gained yesterday for families in America was huge. We also know that it was just a beginning—the opening battles in a much larger fight as we head into 2022.

The far Left and their leaders don’t want the voice of parents to matter. They aren’t going to stand down or change direction willingly. We know this. There is too much at stake for them and their decades-long plan to erase families—from conception of our children through their education and how they choose to live, work and enjoy the greatness of America that God has blessed us with.

The time is now, and our moment is here. We need to rise to this challenge and make sure that the victory in Virginia and gains in New Jersey are not just one-and-done events. You saw for yourself the power of leaders who don’t shrink from standing up for our values in family policy. The far Left threw everything and the kitchen sink at the candidates yesterday. They even resorted to calling Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin and Lt. Governor-elect Winsome Sears (the first African American woman elected statewide in Virginia) racist because they believe in – you guessed it – families and parents.

Family Policy Alliance is America’s leading national organization standing up for the civil rights of parents and families in state, local and federal policy. What makes us unique is our focus on organizing, educating and mobilizing around family policy.

We host an alliance of the most talented, impactful and amazing organizations working to advance the rights of families in America. What made the success possible yesterday was the work two of the forty state organizations in that alliance. The Family Foundation in Virginia and Family Policy Alliance of New Jersey organized, educated and mobilized voters like never before. And the leaders in Washington DC, pundits and news stations all took notice. It was their work and the good people who support it locally that ushered in this huge change in the national conversation about families.

And this work is just beginning. FPA hosts this alliance so the lessons learned that led to the victories for families last night can be shared across America as we head into 2022. Together, our organizations will invest more than $30 million just this year in the cause of family policy. Our alliance has more than 300 employees, dozens of lawyers, millions of advocates and more than 40,000 churches.

If you don’t already support the work of your state Family Policy Council Alliance member, we encourage you to get involved now!

Thank you again for your amazing support of  Family Policy Alliance. Praise God that he is using each of us in such a powerful way for families today!!

Please, stay plugged in. Look for the videos and invitations we send for you to participate. Support your state organization, and if you are in one of the states yet to have its own organization (OR, NV, IL, VT, OK, – help us create one there now!

Thanks again and may God bless your family,

Craig DeRoche
President and CEO

By: Jonathan Lange

It was Joseph Heller’ 1961 novel that introduced the term “Catch-22” into America’s modern vocabulary. In Heller’s “Catch-22,” he satirized a bureaucratic loop that prevented a military man from requesting a psychological evaluation because, according to the “catch-22” rule, the very act of asking proved he didn’t need one. Merriam-Webster defines the essential meaning of this phrase as “a difficult situation for which there is no easy or possible solution.”

The American Library Association (ALA) touts Heller’s novel among the famous “banned books.” However, it was only temporarily banned in one Ohio library from 1971-1974.

Banned Books Week, which takes place the last week of September every year, gives a platform for libraries to treat parental concerns with utter contempt. They ban classics while housing sexually explicit books in children’s libraries.

First, it gives woke school administrators—not parents— the ability to remove classics like John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men” and Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” from a high school English curriculum.This enables them to claim that these books are “censored.” Second, the ALA uses the dubious claim to include these kinds of books on their “Top 10 #BannedBooksList.” Third, the same ALA then puts eight other books on the list that are truly objectionable but makes it look on a par with American classics.

This brings us to the real Catch-22: The pornographic language and pictures found in the children’s book section of Wyoming’s libraries. This obscenity is so over-the-top that these books would never be printed in any respectable newspaper.

Any teacher or librarian unable to see why sane parents would object to the open display of “Doing It,” “The V-Word,” and “This Book is Gay” in the children’s section of a library has no business being around our children. Despite what progressive ideologues will tell you, this has nothing to do with “sexual identity” and everything to do with exposing children to inappropriate sexual content.

So, what can we do about it in Wyoming?

First, educate yourself. Concerned citizens should use the card catalogue of every child’s library to search for books of a sexual or otherwise objectionable nature. Work with other people in the community to share this workload.Second, go and talk to administrators to discuss your findings. Seek a solution that protects the community’s children. Sexually objectionable books should, at the bare minimum, not be displayed on the direct eye-level of your average seven-year-old. These books must be moved to the adult part of the library. Third, learn the library’s policies that pertain to your concerns. If it is not being followed, correct the abuse. If the policy itself is inadequate, go to the appropriate oversight board—either the school board or the library board. Schools and counties are not answerable to the American Library Association. They are answerable to the voters.

Finally, remember that it is not only the business of parents to make public libraries safe for their children. It is the business of the entire community.

Your voice must be heard. This should not have to be a Catch-22.

By: Jonathan Lange

NathanWinters
Executive Director

 

A school district in Virginia has been making national news since this summer when a teacher was suspended for refusing to use opposite-sex pronouns to refer to his students. The Loudoun County School District has continued to make headlines over Critical Race Theory debates, passage of a new “transgender and gender fluid student rights policy,”* and more.

Most recently – and most disturbingly –the district is under fire for transferring a male student charged with sexual assault (forcible sodomy) from one high school to another, and attempting to cover up the incident. The boy is accused of rape in both schools. He allegedly assaulted one girl in a classroom and one in the girls’ restroom, where he was allowed to enter under the district’s transgender policy.

While news like this can evoke discouragement and even hopelessness, a group of engaged parents in Loudoun County is giving us all reason to hope.

Fight for Schools is comprised of caring parents who are locking arms and collectively saying “enough is enough” in their school district. They are making waves—and making a difference—as they fight for truth and safety in their schools. One way they are doing so is through recall campaigns for five out of nine school board members. As they pursue accountability in Loudoun County, they’ve also called for the resignation of Superintendent Scott Ziegler. The latest good news is in the form of a resignation: Loudoun County school board member Beth Barts issued her resignation one week ago—and even the liberal media is giving credit to these parents.

If Loudoun County is front and center in the battle for our schools, the backdrop is liberal politicians and political appointees advocating against parental involvement in schools.

A few weeks ago, Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe unbelievably said in a campaign debate, “I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach” and then doubled down on his view in media interviews following. The same week, President Biden’s Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona refused to agree with the premise that parents are the primary stakeholders in their children’s education during a congressional hearing on Capitol Hill. If that wasn’t enough, the Biden Administration has taken shocking action to “show parents who’s boss” by directing the FBI to investigate parents who speak up in their local school districts!

These events are disillusioning (to say the least), but they also underscore why the actions of parents – like those who comprise Fight for Schools in Loudoun County – have never been more important.

As a parent myself, I’ve come to realize that it is not enough to complain and despair about the battles being waged against our children in school. If I am not willing to engage, voice my opinion, and advocate for my kids’ safety and for truth taught in our schools, who will?

If you agree but feel uncertain about what to do or how to do it, let me encourage you to download a copy of FPA’s Back to School for Parents guide. I’ll draw your attention to pages 5-9 which explains in simple terms who has educational authority in our schools and how parents can effectively advocate for their children in public schools.

If you are a parent with children in public school, I hope you will consider making your voice heard. We at FPA stand ready and willing to help you do so, and we’re thankful for those of you who partner with us to make resources like the Back to School for Parents guide possible.

For our kids,

Amanda Banks
Vice President, Education

 

 

*According to the Loudoun Times, “Loudoun’s Policy 8040 allows students to use their chosen name and gender pronouns that reflect their consistently asserted gender identity without any substantiating evidence, regardless of the name and gender recorded in the student’s permanent educational record. The policy also allows for access to a number of student activities and facilities such as restrooms and locker rooms. Further, the policy states that all school mental health professionals shall complete training on topics relating to LGBTQ+ students, including procedures for preventing and responding to bullying, harassment and discrimination based on gender identity and expression.”

This week, the Biden Administration directed the FBI to conduct meetings in every federal judicial district related to “threats” and “terrorism” in local school districts.

Why? Because parents are standing up and speaking out against radical ideologies like gender theory, critical race theory, and more at their local school board meetings. Now, the Department of Justice is deploying the FBI to investigate your community.

To be clear, acts or threats of violence against school boards members are wrong.

However, the federal government is now extending its long arms to areas that should be handled by local mayors, school principals and school boards, and law enforcement.

This an attempt to undermine families and self-governance—even corrupting America itself. We are a splendid chaos of tens of thousands of local civic governments made of the people, by the people and for the people. When people are allowed to dissent, that political pain can bring about much needed change. When the political leaders don’t improve things, people can vote with their feet and simply move. But that’s what extreme liberals, particularly the Biden Administration, seem to be afraid of. Their plan unravels if Americans are allowed to exercise their freedoms.

For example, Detroit Public Schools went from having 169,363 students in the year 2000 to only 47,959 students in 2015. This is what freedom looks like when parents believe that school curriculum, policy and instruction fail their kids and the school boards don’t hear their voices. Nearly all the parents took their kids to neighboring public schools that would listen to their concerns and teach their children properly.

The far Left wants to create an America where the people in Detroit can’t leave bad decision-making behind for other cities and states, and they can’t put their kids in different school districts—where parents can’t even raise their voices in the first place. They want to take away dissent and choice, spreading instead failure, flawed ideology, and the consequences of foolish decisions.

Deploying the FBI to investigate parents who are speaking against radical agendas is a grave sign that the federal government intends to create a chilling effect for those who oppose their ideologies. But parents won’t back down when it comes to their children.

Family Policy Alliance is committed to protecting the freedom of parents to dissent.

We’re actively working to thwart the Biden-Harris Department of Education’s agenda to exploit Title IX, the federal law intended to ensure equal opportunities for women and girls in education, to advance the transgender agenda. We pray for bold citizens and parents, especially those with daughters in school, to stand with us.

We’ve also heard the requests for help from countless parents over the years, asking for information about their rights, what’s going on at their child’s school, and how to protect their children. In partnership with Focus on the Family, we’ve released the first-ever Back to School for Parents Guide designed to help parents protect their children—and their parental rights—in every area of the school. Whether in the classroom, sports fields, counselor’s office, on school devices or internet, or beyond, this Guide is full of practical help for busy (and concerned!) parents. American College of Pediatricians described this Guide as “the most important book a parent will ever read.”

Download your FREE copy today!

If being a concerned parent makes you “wanted,” then we’re honored to stand with you as fellow “fugitives.”

For the America our kids deserve,

Craig DeRoche,
President & CEO