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Tag: Parental Rights

The fine print of SB25-063: Speak up about inappropriate books in schools, get doxxed
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The fine print of SB25-063: Speak up about inappropriate books in schools, get doxxed

By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice When Colorado lawmakers debated Senate Bill 25-063—titled the “Freedom to Read Act”—most eyes focused on the usual battle lines: controversial books, age appropriateness and the role of librarians. But tucked inside the bill is something less publicized—and more dangerous to parents who dare to speak up. Under Section 4(f), any parent who requests that a book be reconsidered for a school library will have their name made public. That request becomes a CORA-able document, meaning it falls under the Colorado Open Records Act. And in today’s politically charged environment, that’s all it takes to make someone a target. Rep. Ken DeGraaf, who opposed the bill during the April 3 House floor debate, warned that the measure gives...
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Cole: HB-1312 turns pronouns into a weapon against parents and schools
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Cole: HB-1312 turns pronouns into a weapon against parents and schools

By Shaina Cole | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado House Democrats recently leveraged their legislative authority with a calculated one-two punch, invoking Rule 14 on April 4, 2025, to cap debate on House Bill 1312 (HB-1312), the “Kelly Loving Act,” at a scant two hours, then deploying Rule 16 over the weekend to stifle discussion entirely and push the bill to an immediate vote.  These tools, seldom used outside of breaking filibuster gridlock, were not wielded here to clear a clogged calendar but to mute opposition to a measure poised to reshape parental rights, free speech, and family dynamics. This heavy-handed approach stripped away democratic deliberation, a move that should unsettle every Coloradan. This isn’t about streamlining; it’s about dominance. ...
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Enos: Abortion, parental rights and gun grabs—Colorado’s radical trifecta
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Enos: Abortion, parental rights and gun grabs—Colorado’s radical trifecta

By Colleen Enos | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice While continuing to grapple with Colorado’s $1.2 billion dollar shortfall, the state will be losing $250 million in pandemic-related federal funding for healthcare from the American Rescue Plan Act. The federal government is implementing the President’s “Department of Government Efficiency” Cost Efficiency Initiative. Coloradoans may believe that our Democrat-led state legislature will surely cut back on bills with a fiscal impact, but that would be an incorrect assumption; they just tweak the fiscal note. SB25-183, Coverage for Pregnancy Related Services, would be more appropriately named “Taxpayer-funded Abortion Coverage.” This bill adds abortion coverage to Colorado’s state Medicaid insurance. Howev...
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Elizabeth schools win court stay—banned books won’t return yet
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Approved, Elbert County News, Local

Elizabeth schools win court stay—banned books won’t return yet

By Scott Gilbert | Elbert County News On Thursday, April 3, a Denver-based federal judge ordered the Elizabeth School District to place 19 removed books on library shelves by the weekend, but on the morning of Friday, April 4, a judge with the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay, meaning the books will remain off the shelves pending further legal proceedings. The back-and-forth is the latest in a legal battle between Elizabeth Schools and the ACLU of Colorado, which sued the district in December seeking the return of 19 library books that the school board voted to remove on Sept. 9 of last year and then discarded. The ACLU alleges that the school board improperly removed the books because it disagreed with ideas expressed in them and claims that the book removal was a viol...
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Davis: Democrat lawmakers target faith as discriminatory under HB25-1312
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Davis: Democrat lawmakers target faith as discriminatory under HB25-1312

By Chase Davis | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado is rapidly becoming one of the nation’s most “progressive” states. And by “progressive,” I mean “radically opposed to God, family, life, marriage, and basic human biology and aggressively hostile to anyone who holds historic conservative and Christian beliefs on these issues.” Welcome to the modern Left—this ain’t your grandaddy’s Democrat Party. As a Southern Baptist pastor living and ministering in Boulder, Colorado, I’m on the front lines of the fight to maintain both a gospel and a “creation order” witness in a state that is increasingly hostile to the spiritual message of salvation in Jesus Christ and the natural law. And what Colorado Democrats are trying to do right now, if successful, would destroy the ...
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Judge overrides parents, reinstates graphic books mid-appeal
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Approved, coloradopolitics.com, Local

Judge overrides parents, reinstates graphic books mid-appeal

By Michael Karlik | Colorado Politics A federal judge on Thursday refused to put her prior ruling on hold while an appeal plays out, and instead ordered Elizabeth School District to return 19 restricted books to library shelves by Saturday. U.S. District Court Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney rejected the Elbert County district's claims that her original order was unfair, "breathtakingly broad" and would require whole new library policies. She also slammed the district for disclosing, only after she issued her order, that it had "discarded" the disputed books entirely. "Rather than being forthcoming with the Court about these facts, the District previously represented that the Removed Books were available to Plaintiffs, and only Plaintiffs," she wrote in an April 3 order. "No menti...
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Democrat Rep. Zokaie compares concerned parents to KKK during hearing on HB25-1312
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Approved, Fox News, State

Democrat Rep. Zokaie compares concerned parents to KKK during hearing on HB25-1312

By Jamie Joseph | Fox News A Colorado Democrat likened parent groups to "the KKK" during an hours-long committee hearing for a controversial bill that could see parents accused of "coercive control" in custody fights for using a trans child's "deadname." "I really am curious about how much stakeholdering went on both sides of the issue, and not just one side," Republican state Rep. Jarvis Caldwell said during the hearing, which began Monday night and ran into early Tuesday. "I'm curious with if the businesses in the community were included in these and if parent groups that are not part of the LGBT community if they were involved." Later during the House Judiciary hearing, Democrat state Rep. Yara Zokaie said the committee that night had "heard a lot about stak...
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Cole: Colorado’s gender bills sideline parents and rush kids into harm
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Cole: Colorado’s gender bills sideline parents and rush kids into harm

By Shaina Cole | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice On Friday, March 28, Colorado legislators introduced House Bill 25-1309 and House Bill 25-1312, proposals crafted to safeguard transgender youth. Their aims are well-meaning: one mandates insurance coverage for gender-affirming treatments such as hormone therapy and surgeries, while the other anchors gender identity within custody law to protect vulnerable children.  Yet, beneath these noble intentions lies a troubling prospect—lasting harm to the very youth they seek to shield, coupled with an alarming shift of authority from parents to the state. Consider HB 25-1309, which compels insurance providers to fund gender-affirming care when deemed medically necessary. The goal is clear: ensure access for transgender youth. H...
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Education Department cracks down on schools that keep secrets from parents
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Education Department cracks down on schools that keep secrets from parents

By Rocky Mountain Voice Staff The U.S. Department of Education under Secretary Linda McMahon has announced a sweeping effort to enforce existing federal laws that protect parental rights in public schools. The March 28 directive reaffirms parents' authority over their children’s education and mental health records—specifically targeting public school policies that have kept parents in the dark. The action revitalizes enforcement of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA), two long-standing federal laws designed to guarantee that parents are the primary decision-makers in a child’s education and well-being. “The Trump Administration understands that the immense responsibility of raising children belongs to parents, n...
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Overbeck: DougCo school board Conservative leadership delivers results – academic gains and parent power
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Overbeck: DougCo school board Conservative leadership delivers results – academic gains and parent power

By Joy Overbeck | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice As soon as they were elected in 2021, the four new Conservative Douglas County School District (DCSD) directors were faced with the major issues of the time: the Covid pandemic, and the twisted woke movement to reduce parents’ influence by infecting students with leftist political ideologies.     They began honoring their campaign promises on day one by keeping the Douglas County schools open, knowing that in-person classes instead of ineffective online lessons would lead to solid improvements in student achievement.  They also ended the useless Covid masking and vaccines dictated by the previous leftist board, who had sued the health department to keep kids masked and schools closed.   ...
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