Contrary to what many parents believe, children are not their possessions!  Common law and case law in the United States have long supported the idea that education should prepare young people to think for themselves, even if that runs counter to the wishes of parents.  Children need to be able to examine their own values and beliefs and they learn to do that through experience and the literature and media they can examine with a critical eye outside the parent’s purview.  It is for that reason that we have standards that apply to even private and home schooling.  Parents cannot simply decide for themselves what their children will learn. 

So, why have we suddenly had this push for parental rights?  Because our politicians have decided to make our children their own political football, while totally ignoring the Separation of Church and State!  They have stirred the parents up into a frenzy of thinking that because their kids read a certain book they will become perverts,  or some other twisted version of what they think of the LGBTQ community.  These parents refuse to acknowledge the role of science and genetics in their children's lives, how could they possibly be qualified to determine their educational curriculum.   What these politicians and preachers are doing is absolutely unconscienable and it is breaking down the fiber of our public education system at a time when we should be focusing on STEM programs.  We need to get refocused!