Colorado Parental Bill of Rights
"Recommended Draft"

Preamble:

We, the People of Colorado, affirm that the family is the first and most essential unit of a free society. Parents have a sacred duty and natural right to direct the upbringing, education, and care of their children. This right precedes government and is grounded in the laws of nature and of nature's God. The U.S. Constitution, the Colorado Constitution, and the enduring principles of liberty protect this fundamental authority. Whether informed by biblical conviction or natural reason, we declare that parents must be empowered to raise their children free from coercion and with full transparency from the state.

 

Section 1. Curriculum Transparency and Academic Oversight

Parents have the right to access and review all instructional materials, textbooks, lesson plans, library resources, classroom media, and digital tools used in their child's education. School districts shall publish these materials and make them available to parents at the beginning of each academic term or upon request. Meetings between parents and educators shall be accommodated for academic review. This right ensures that no child is subjected to ideological or inappropriate content without parental knowledge and oversight. It affirms that educational stewardship begins with the family [1][2].

 

Section 2. Medical and Mental Health Consent Protections

Parents retain exclusive authority over their child's physical and mental healthcare. No health service, medication, psychological evaluation, or counseling session shall be administered to a minor without the informed, written consent of their parent or legal guardian. Parents may withdraw consent at any time, and providers shall honor such decisions without penalty or prejudice. This right is both a constitutional protection under the Fourteenth Amendment and a moral duty enshrined in the natural law that obliges parents to protect and nurture their children [3][4].

 

Section 3. School Choice and Access to Alternative Education

Parents have the right to choose the educational setting that best fits the needs and values of their family, including public, charter, private, parochial, and home education. No family shall be penalized, taxed unfairly, or restricted from receiving the benefit of educational choice based on their selection. State policy shall actively support school choice through open enrollment, educational savings accounts, and scholarship programs. This right is anchored in the liberty of conscience and the authority of the family to determine what is best for its children [5][6].

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Section 4. Religious Freedom and Faith-Based Education

Parents have the right to direct the spiritual instruction of their children without government interference. Children may engage in prayer, sacred study, and expressions of faith consistent with their family's beliefs, both within and outside educational settings. Public schools shall not inhibit voluntary religious expression, nor shall any student be compelled to affirm beliefs contrary to their conscience. Parents may enroll their children in faith-based institutions without threat or consequence. This right is protected by the First Amendment and reflects a deeper moral truth: that the care of the soul belongs to the family, not the state [7][8].

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Section 5. Right to Be Informed and Opt-In to Controversial or Ideological Content

Parents must be notified in advance and in clear terms of any instruction involving sexuality, gender identity, critical race theory, or other controversial or ideologically driven content. Participation in such instruction shall not occur without the express, written, opt-in consent of a parent or legal guardian. Schools must present this information to parents at the start of each school year and prior to the introduction of any new such content. This standard affirms that neutrality in education requires transparency and parental control over moral and philosophical formation [9][10].

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Section 6. Protection from State Overreach in Child-Rearing

Parents hold the primary responsibility and authority for the upbringing, discipline, and development of their children. No government agency or official shall interfere in these matters except in cases of clear, imminent harm or abuse. Any intervention must be narrowly tailored and subject to due process protections. This right is founded upon both the natural law and constitutional jurisprudence recognizing that the family, not the state, is the original institution of human governance [11][12].

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Section 7. School Board Access, Accountability, and Public Records

Parents have the right to participate in the oversight of public education. All school board meetings shall be open to the public, and agendas must be published with adequate notice. Parents have the right to speak, petition, and access public records related to school policy, curriculum, budgeting, and student services. Parents also retain the right to review and copy their own child's educational and health records. Transparency ensures accountability and affirms the sovereignty of the people over their government [13][14].

 

 

Conclusion:

This Parents' Bill of Rights is a declaration of enduring principle, rooted in Scripture, reason, and liberty. We affirm that the rights of parents are not granted by government-they are secured by nature and nature's God, recognized in our Constitution, and reaffirmed in the lived experience of free people. The State of Colorado hereby enacts these protections to preserve the sacred trust between parent and child, and to defend the moral integrity of the family as the cornerstone of a just and flourishing Republic.

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Bibliography:

1. Meyer v. Nebraska, 262 U.S. 390 (1923)

2. Pierce v. Society of Sisters, 268 U.S. 510 (1925)

3. Troxel v. Granville, 530 U.S. 57 (2000)

4. Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

5. Colorado Revised Statutes § 22-30.5-101 (Charter Schools Act)

6. Espinoza v. Montana Dept. of Revenue, 591 U.S. ___ (2020)

7. First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

8. Ephesians 6:4; Proverbs 22:6

9. Parental Rights Foundation, Model Parental Rights Legislation, 2023

10. Colorado HB22-1236 "Parental Notification of Sensitive Content in Schools" (proposed)

11. Declaration of Independence, 1776 [12] John Locke, Second Treatise of Government

12. Colorado Sunshine Law, CRS § 24-6-401 et seq.

13. Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), 20 U.S.C. § 1232g