LANSING, Mich. — Republican State Representative Annette Glenn introduced new legislation on Tuesday in support of parental rights in public schools.
The new legislation is in direct response to a controversial Facebook by the Democratic party of Michigan that went viral in January.
"An increasing number of people hostile to parental rights in education are growing bold enough to say so out loud," Glenn said in a post on the Michigan House Republican's website. "I want to ensure parents and public school officials all across Michigan are prominently reminded of the rights parents are guaranteed by state law.”
The announcement from Rep. Glenn came after the Democratic party of Michigan removed a controversial post from their Facebook feed regarding parental rights in public schools.
"The purpose of a public education in a public school is not to teach kids only what parents want them to be taught. It is to teach them what society needs to know," the Michigan Democratic Party Facebook post read. "Parents do have the option to choose to send their kids to hand-selected private school at their own expense if this is what they desire."
After the post was removed, the Michigan Democratic Party apologized saying "Parents need to have a say in their children’s education, end of story."
The apology from the Michigan Democratic Party quickly walked back the sentiment from their initial post, but it was still met with a deluge of angry comments.
Rep. Glenn announced the plan for the new legislation shortly after the post was removed and then it was officially introduced to the Michigan House of Representatives on Tuesday.
House Bill No. 5703 would require a public posting that includes wording from Michigan’s Revised School Code of 1976.
House Bill No. 5703
Introduced by Reps. Glenn, Rendon, Eisen, Clements, Beson, Martin, Bollin and Hornberger and referred to the Committee on Education.
The board of a school district or intermediate school district or board of directors of a public school academy shall ensure that the text of section 1 of article VIII of the state constitution of 1963 and section 10 as added by 1995 PA 289 is prominently posted and maintained in all of the following areas, in a manner that is easily accessible by the public:
- The room or rooms in which the board or board of directors conducts its meetings.
- An office in the school district's, intermediate school district's, or public school academy's administrative building.
- The principal's or chief administrator's, as applicable, office at each school operated by the board or board of directors.
The bill was introduced to the Michigan House of Representatives on Tuesday and was referred to Committee on Education.
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