Parental Rights - Rocky Mountain Voice

Schaffer’s ‘unsafe school choice’ policy gets new life under Trump

Education Week, Approved, National / May 26, 2025 / Bob Schaffer, Education policy, Parental Rights, School Choice, Trump Administration, Unsafe Schools

When the Trump administration urged states to use a little-known provision in federal education law to boost school choice, the congressman who helped author the language 24 years ago had an immediate reaction.

“It’s about time,” said former Congressman Bob Schaffer.

In a May 7 letter, Acting Assistant Education Secretary Hayley B. Sanon urged states to ease their criteria for labeling schools as “persistently dangerous”—a designation that legally comes with an obligation to offer families an option to transfer to another public school.

Schaffer’s ‘unsafe school choice’ policy gets new life under Trump Read More »

Buck: Woke school policies now sweeping Middle America

The Wall Street Journal, Approved, National / May 25, 2025 / Equity vs Excellence, Gender Ideology, Middle America, Parental Rights, Restorative Justice, Woke Education

One question persists in American education: How pervasive are the stories of kindergartners learning about transgenderism or high-schoolers waving Hamas flags in hallways? Among the four million teachers in the U.S. there will inevitably be cranks and ideologues who mistake their lectern for a pulpit. Examination of a typical American school district in a typical American town reveals that the progressive mismanagement of school districts extends beyond the dark-blue borders of San Francisco and Portland, Ore.

Buck: Woke school policies now sweeping Middle America Read More »

Hunt: Governor signs laws advancing trans agenda, sparking constitutional challenge

TownHall.com, Approved, Commentary, State / May 25, 2025 / 75th Colorado Legislature, Child protection, Constitutional rights, Free Speech, Gender Ideology, Government overreach, Governor Jared Polis, HB25-1309, HB25-1312, Parental Rights, religious liberty, Transgender

Just as a refreshing wave of reality-based, commonsense policy seems to be sweeping the nation, Colorado lawmakers are doubling down on “trans” policies that can only be described as absurd, unconscionable and unconstitutional.

For those of us in Colorado who still believe in parental rights and free speech, the speed at which our state is descending into a dystopian nightmare is terrifying.

Here in Colorado, transactivists control the State House, the Senate, and the governor’s seat. Whatever they want to do, however far they want to push the envelope, they can, and they did this legislative cycle. Some of the bills are so radical that even California’s governor refused to sign similar legislation.

Hunt: Governor signs laws advancing trans agenda, sparking constitutional challenge Read More »

Colorado sued over law punishing ‘misgendering’: Doctors, parents cite First Amendment

denvergazette.com, Approved, State / May 23, 2025 / Civil Liberties, Compelled Speech, Deadnaming, First amendment, Free Speech, Gender Ideology, HB25-1312, Misgendering, Parental Rights, Religious freedom

Several organizations and a western Colorado dermatologist have filed a lawsuit seeking to block specific provisions of a recently signed state law that, as originally introduced, would have defined “deadnaming” and “misgendering” as discriminatory acts but whose final version had been heavily modified.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit included Defending Education, the Colorado Parent Advocacy Network, Protect Kids Colorado, and Do No Harm. Travis Morrell, a Grand Junction dermatologist and member of Do No Harm, is also a plaintiff.

Colorado sued over law punishing ‘misgendering’: Doctors, parents cite First Amendment Read More »

Colorado Christian camp sues state over gender facility access mandate

Fox News, Approved, State / May 20, 2025 / Alliance Defending Freedom, Biblical Values, Christian Camps, Faith And Family, First amendment, Gender Ideology, Parental Rights, Religious freedom, State Overreach

A Christian camp that has been operating since 1948 in Colorado is suing the state after the camp was told that it had to accommodate gender expression in bathrooms and a variety of other spaces.

“They feel like they’re honoring God in what they’re doing, and I feel like they should do that, to operate in a way that’s consistent with that,” camp volunteer and mother Leah Rohwer told CBS News in an interview.

Colorado Christian camp sues state over gender facility access mandate Read More »

Silent signature, rising resistance: HB1312 becomes law, but parents vow to fight on

Gov. Jared Polis signed House Bill 25-1312 into law on Friday, May 16, without a press conference, social media announcement or public ceremony.

While the bill, known as the “Kelly Loving Act,” was hailed by progressive lawmakers as a milestone for transgender rights, many Coloradans who opposed the bill say the governor’s quiet signature is a telling indication of just how controversial the legislation had become.

Silent signature, rising resistance: HB1312 becomes law, but parents vow to fight on Read More »

First in the state: District 49 bans boys from girls’ sports, sues state over anti-discrimination laws

completecolorado.com, Approved, Local / May 16, 2025 / Biological Sex Policy, Colorado schools, District 49, Executive Order 14021, Female Athletes, Girls Sports, Parental Rights, Public Education Policy, State Vs Local Control, Title IX, Transgender Policy

COLORADO SPRINGS — Colorado’s 18th largest school district, located about 15 miles northeast of Colorado Springs in El Paso County, appears to be the first to unilaterally develop transgender athlete regulations in adherence to recent presidential executive orders.

Saying that “there are inherent differences between boys and girls, meaning biological males and biological females” the Falcon 49 school board last week enacted a new policy specifying in part that “classification of sports team participation by biological sex is therefore necessary to preserve and promote equal opportunity for District 49’s female athletes.”

First in the state: District 49 bans boys from girls’ sports, sues state over anti-discrimination laws Read More »

Christian Camp IdRaHaJe sues Colorado over forced gender policy: ‘Let us uphold biblical truth’

National Catholic Register, Approved, Local / May 16, 2025 / Alliance Defending Freedom, Camp IdRaHaJe, Children’s Camps, Christian Organizations, First amendment, Gender Identity Policy, Parental Rights, Religious Exemptions, religious liberty, Transgender Policy

A Christian summer camp network is suing the Colorado government over a state rule allowing males who identify as girls to be given access to girls’ showers, dressing areas, and sleeping facilities.

Camp IdRaHaJe — which separates private facilities on the basis of sex rather than self-asserted “gender identity” — filed the federal lawsuit against Colorado’s Department of Early Childhood on Monday.

Christian Camp IdRaHaJe sues Colorado over forced gender policy: ‘Let us uphold biblical truth’ Read More »

Notarfrancesco: TRAILS goes beyond SEL—it’s activism wrapped in therapy language

Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, Local, Top Stories / May 15, 2025 / D70 Schools, DEI in Education, Education Oversight, Parental Rights, Social Emotional Learning, Student Data Privacy, TRAILS Program, Unlicensed Therapy

Should teachers in Colorado K-12 classrooms be performing daily assessments on the thoughts and feelings of your children?

At the beginning of the 2024-25 school year, Pueblo D70 School District controversially implemented a Social Emotional Learning (SEL) curriculum which Superintendent Ronda Rein described in an email from September 24, 2024 as a “daily assessment of thoughts and feelings.”

SEL is promoted to parents and school administrators as the panacea for kids’ mental health concerns, and SEL advocates believe the concepts benefit students by providing important emotional training which leads to academic success, healthy relationships, and proper civic engagement.

Notarfrancesco: TRAILS goes beyond SEL—it’s activism wrapped in therapy language Read More »

Sencenbaugh: DEI and CRT may sound noble, but they’re driving academic mediocrity in schools

Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, Top Stories / May 15, 2025 / Academic achievement, Critical Race Theory, Diversity Equity Inclusion, Education policy, Parental Rights, School Reform, Teacher Workload

If you are on the left or the right, Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) in the average classroom does not look like one tends to believe. Both are far more subtle. Thus, any debate on these issues devolves into both sides yelling at one another with neither actually listening.

During a House Oversight Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) declared, “We can stop with the nonsense because K-12 was not teaching critical race theory…in our country K-12 is not learning critical race theory. Just for those who are unfamiliar.”

Having taught in both Texas and Colorado, I can tell you that she is not being completely honest. While she is correct that “CRT” is not directly taught in any K-12 school or part of any state standards, it would be dishonest to believe that the ideas behind CRT are not taught in our schools. I have observed classrooms and read over lessons that assume CRT to be accurate.

Sencenbaugh: DEI and CRT may sound noble, but they’re driving academic mediocrity in schools Read More »