On Wednesday, as part of the debate over HB2161 (parental rights), Arizona Democrats tweeted out a short clip of Republican State Rep. Steve Kaiser being questioned by Democrat Sen. Christine Marsh as to what exactly it means for an educator to be “usurping a parent’s upbringing.”
The Dems bragged: We’re so fortunate to have Senator @ChristinePMarsh serving in the legislature. Great question on #HB2161.
We’re so fortunate to have Senator @ChristinePMarsh serving in the legislature. Great question on #HB2161 https://t.co/0eySXsygLH
— Kelli Butler (@KelliButlerAZ) March 17, 2022
They spoke too soon. The tweet, intended to embarrass Kaiser or suggest that he could not provide examples, ignored that Kaiser had already initially described a number of issues that would be covered under the bill. Only when pressed for additional examples did Kaiser defer to the many parents there to testify in support of the bill. The Democrat tweet ignored this testimony, for reasons that become obvious when Arizonans see it for themselves.
HB2161 specifically “expands statutory parental rights regarding the upbringing, education, health care and mental health of a parent’s minor child.”
Perhaps the most important aspect of the bill in terms of strengthening parental rights, is that it “authorizes a parent to bring suit against a governmental entity or official based on any violation of the Parents’ Bill of Rights.
The bill allows parents to sue for any other action that interferes with or usurps the parent’s right to direct the upbringing, education, health care and mental health of their children in:
a) superior court;
b) federal court if authorized by federal law; or
c) before an administrative tribunal of appropriate jurisdiction.
It also authorizes a parent to raise a violation of the Parents’ Bill of Rights as a claim or a defense.
Butler’s heavily edited tweet aside, the bill advanced out of committee and is headed for a vote from the full State Senate. For her part, even after several parents gave powerful examples of parental rights being trampled by school districts, Sen Marsh still voted against the bill and voted to protect the ability of teachers to attempt to guide the upbringing and mental health of other people’s children, over the wishes of the children’s parents.