Before House minority leader Kevin McCarthy moves ahead with the Commitment to America, I hope he spends some time listening to parents firsthand.  I think he may see that his version, while close, misses the mark.

Taxpayer-funded schools continue to push pornographic materials to even the youngest students, and they seem more energetic than ever to teach anti-American propaganda and Marxist critical theories.  Who gave his consent to this?  Not the parents I know.  Schools are building walls between parents and schoolchildren, destroying families with grooming, counseling, and even medicating students in "gender transitions," all against the will of their parents.

As members of a national organization standing for parents, United States Parents Involved in Education (USPIE) greatly anticipated McCarthy's Commitment to America.  We firmly believe that our country is suffering under Democrat party governance and agree that Republicans must act boldly to regain control and return our county to robust prosperity.

We also agree wholeheartedly with McCarthy's aim for "A Future That's Built on Freedom."  Freedom is the essence of our nation.  The Commitment begins with a statement about education and parents, a key constituency.  School board meetings are seeing parents speak out in greater numbers than ever before.  Parents are fed up with the state of public education in our country.  Disregard for parental rights and responsibilities for their own children is prevalent.

However, our vision for solving this problem is very different from that stated in the Commitment to America.  We do not believe that parents need a "voice."  We believe that parents need control.  The evidence is clear: although the federal government has been overseeing public education for more than 50 years with ever increasing funding and regulation, school performance has plummeted.  American education is seeing the largest drop in reading and mathematics scores since 1990, but children can articulate the LGBTQ agenda, describe how to put on a condom, and explain why America is and always has been a racist and sexist country.  All of this is well documented by experts in our newly released documentary film Truth and Lies in American Education.

USPIE's mission is to return control of education to parents and local communities by eradicating federal intrusion.  Through USPIE, grassroots leaders from around the country have joined forces to abolish the United States Department of Education and put an end to all federal education mandates.  Ronald Reagan knew that this was the right course of action when he ran, but sadly, he could not make it happen.  We believe that McCarthy and other upstanding lawmakers can if they commit to do so.

We are attempting to create a culture where parents, empowered with the authority to choose what and how their children learn, are the undisputed primary educators of their children, where local schools operate in support of families, and where education is unencumbered by federal mandates.

We strongly urges McCarthy and House Republicans to endorse our Blueprint to Close the Federal Department of Education.  It is a concise, nine-page document with clear instruction and supporting research.  It has been reviewed by experts with the Cato Institute and the Heritage Foundation, as well as numerous Washington congressmen and their staff.

We are hopeful that Republicans are serious about restoring educational freedom.  You cannot do this if the federal government is the entity "making sure every student can succeed" or "expanding parental choice."  You can ensure freedom in education only if you get the federal government out of the education business and restore the vision of our Founding Fathers where local communities and parents direct the education of their children.

Sheri Few is the founder and president of United States Parents Involved in Education (USPIE), whose mission is to end the U.S. Department of Education and all federal education mandates.  USPIE has established 20 state chapters and is growing rapidly amid the national outcry from parents who want to regain control of their children's education.  Few is a nationally recognized leader on education policy and is often quoted in conservative media.  Few has spent much of the last year exposing Critical Race Theory and serving as executive producer for the new documentary film titled Truth & Lies in American Education.

Image: Eric Ward.