If parents fail to provide for their children, they can face legal consequences. The court systems have recognized parents' rights to raise their children, but that right comes with responsibilities.  Parents must feed, clothe, get medical attention, etc. for their children.

Yet, more and more, it seems that the government wants to take over parenting while still holding parents accountable for how their children turn out.

Over the years, school systems have extended how long they have children for more hours during the day and more grade levels.  The rationale is that the additional time is needed to better educate students, but American student performance on the world stage continues to fall.

It used to be that students brought their lunches to school or went home for lunch.  Then schools began offering lunches.  And now some school systems offer breakfast and dinner as well.  The assumption behind this is that if the schools won't feed the children, they won't get fed.

In recent years, the argument has moved to a parent's right to know what is going on in the classroom.  A recent example of this is the Parental Rights in Education Bill that is now law in Florida.  Despite the mischaracterization of the bill in the media, what it does is prohibit the discussion of sexual topics in kindergarten through the third grade and require that parents be notified when certain topics come up.  It is a bill that recognizes the rights of parents to raise their minor children, and it has the support of a majority of voters.

The reaction from the left should tell you what leftists think about parents.  President Biden called the bill hateful on Twitter.  Other media reports talk about how teachers worry they won't be able to talk to a child who is struggling with his sexual preferences.

Teachers shouldn't be concerned about that, especially not when a child is just barely old enough to understand that boys and girls are different.  That is squarely a parent's responsibility.  What's more, a non-parent shouldn't want to have to talk to a child about such topics in private.  It raises a lot of questions as to why it is being done, and it makes the teacher and school system liable if something happens to the child.

That's not good enough for some school administrators, though.

A recent report from Fox News found that at least 68 school districts in Missouri have enacted a policy suggested by the Missouri School Board Association that allows teachers and counselors to keep conversations of "academics and personal issues" with students private.

"The district will not honor requests by parents/guardians to be informed prior to these discussions, be present during the discussions, or prohibit conversations between a student and staff members," the policy states, in part. 

Some people believe that this is a deliberate effort to hide what is happening in the classroom from parents.

"What this tells me is ... when everything was first starting, when parents were first starting to ask questions about what's going on in their schools, schools were scrambling on how do we not let parents know what's going on," said Andy Wells, a parent and the president of the Missouri chapter of No Left Turn in Education.

This policy is actually giving teachers the power to go behind parents' backs.  It is also probably illegal since it deals with minor children and contradicts other laws.

With this policy, teachers and counselors have the opportunity to have private conversations with students about academics, race, and gender identity without parental knowledge, parental consent, or the ability to opt-out. 

This may be news to some educators, but they aren't their students' parents. 

Sheri Few is the founder and has served as president of SC Parents Involved in Education since June 2000.  She founded US Parents Involved in Education in 2014 and serves as president.  The organization recently produced a documentary called Truth and Lies in American Education.  Sheri led the fight against Common Core in S.C. that ended with her candidacy for S.C. superintendent of education, where she narrowly lost.  She was endorsed by Phyllis Schlafly, Concerned Women for America, Family Research Council, and Congresswoman Michele Bachmann.  Sheri is known for her expertise on Common Core and education policy and has been a featured speaker for national and local conferences and radio shows.

Image: Wokandapix via Pixabay, Pixabay License.