Letter to the Editor: Parents should have a say in how kids are educated

Dear editor,

For your readers unfamiliar with it, a Parents’ Bill of Rights is a law that helps to secure the right of parents to have a major say in how their kids are educated. Paired with enhanced school choice, a PBR gives parents the information they need to judge how the government is educating their kids and the ability to adjust their educational plans and options accordingly.

The good news in Missouri is that we’ve seen legislative progress toward both reforms this year, especially on the Parents’ Bill of Rights. What’s less heartening is that the state House [of Representatives] has made unnecessary changes to a Senate bill that, unaltered, would already deliver on the PBR promise of parental empowerment – changes that could ultimately scuttle the reform as time for legislative negotiation runs out in the session.

I hope the House will seize the moment in 2023 and, if necessary, reconsider its own changes to the bill so that real and substantive parental empowerment can be signed into law. A few weeks remain between now and the end of this year’s legislative work; I hope the House makes that time count and protects the right of Missouri parents to oversee their kids’ education.

—Patrick Ishmael, director of government accountability for the Show-Me Institute