[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 21 (Thursday, March 5, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H882]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          INTRODUCTION OF PARENTAL FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. LaHood). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Tiahrt) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. TIAHRT. Mr. Speaker, recent news reports reflect that American 
children are not doing very well in math and science when compared to 
other countries. This is not good news, especially when we think of how 
well Americans will compete in the future. Our world is becoming more 
and more technological and we rely on math and science every day, and 
so when we see this lack of an ability to compete, we should all be 
concerned.
  Now the solution to this problem is not simple; it is a multifaceted 
solution that is needed. But today I want to focus on one of the 
facets: getting parents involved in the education process.
  Today there are barriers in place, obstacles that keep parents from 
becoming involved. Teachers and principals have told me that when 
parents are involved with their children's education, the kids do 
better and the schools are stronger. So, Mr. Speaker, I have submitted 
legislation to encourage parental involvement by ensuring that parents 
have access to their children's public school records. I believe an 
informed parent is an involved parent, an involved parent in their 
child's education.
  The Parental Freedom of Information Act is based on the need to 
provide active involved parents with information that is vital for them 
to exercise their right to guide the upbringing of their children. The 
rationale for this legislation derives from an alarming number of 
recent cases in which the rights of parents have been ignored and they 
have had to go to court to secure the basic information which the 
parental Freedom of Information Act provides for.
  The current hodgepodge of State and Federal laws and legal precedents 
simply does not provide parents of public school children with a clear-
cut right to access information regarding the content of the education 
their children are receiving.
  The Parental Freedom of Information Act will amend the 1974 Family 
Education Rights and Privacy Act, called FERPA, and strengthen the 
right of parents of elementary and secondary public school students by 
guaranteeing parents access to the curriculum their children are 
exposed to. This includes textbooks, audiovisual materials, manuals, 
journals, films and any supplementary materials. It will provide access 
to testing materials administered to their children. It will also 
require parental consent prior to any student being required to undergo 
medical, psychological or psychiatric examination, testing or treatment 
at school, except for emergency care.
  Now, this provision does not apply to children who voluntarily wish 
to meet with a school counselor or visit the nurse's office for medical 
assistance and services.
  The Parental Freedom of Information Act will withhold Federal funds 
from educational institutions which deny parents access to this 
information. In addition, the act will allow parents to seek judicial 
relief and recoup legal costs when their access to this information is 
denied.
  This is an important new enforcement device placed directly in the 
hands of parents. The Parental Freedom of Information Act in no way 
seeks to influence the content of curriculum or tests. It simply 
guarantees that parents have access to the basic information which they 
must be aware of if they are going to become actively engaged in the 
education of their child.
  The need for the enactment of the Parental Freedom of Information Act 
is seen when considering some of the following situations: Parents in 
California were forced to go to court to obtain copies of the 
curriculum in their sons' decision-making class. The parents believed 
that the class actually involved a number of family issues and were 
trying to decide whether they would attempt to remove their two sons 
from this class.
  In the State of Texas, a mandatory test was administered by the Texas 
Education Agency and they refused to allow parents to view the test 
even after it was given. Officials claimed their test was secure or 
secret, and they would not even allow teachers and administrators or 
school board members to review the test.
  In my own experience as a member of the State's Senate Education 
Committee in Kansas, I requested to review a State standard assessment 
test. After initially being denied access to the test, eventually I was 
allowed to see what other taxpaying parents were denied. I discovered 
in a junior high reading comprehension test a story of a junior high 
girl who developed a relationship with the statue of a crow. In this 
story the crow becomes the girl's spiritual guide.
  This was offensive to most all parents in the State of Kansas. It did 
not reflect community standards, yet every junior high student in 
Kansas was going to be subjected to such a wrong philosophy. 
Fortunately, because of my position on the State's Senate Education 
Committee, the story was changed and there were other wonderful 
alternatives, stories about the history of Kansas or the history of 
America, yet they were overlooked to purport such a wrong philosophy.
  Mr. Speaker, that is why I encourage all of my colleagues to support 
the Parental Freedom of Information Act.

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