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A conservative legal group is urging parents to use their rights under a little-known 1974 law that gives parents a wide berth to review public school curriculum and opt out of commonplace surveys used by third-party contractors.

America First Legal outlined in a guide how parents can use the provisions of the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment, a largely unknown law that was passed in 1974 and updated most recently in 2002, to view and expose critical race theory and other controversial curricula.

"The Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment, 20 U.S.C. 1232h, is one important but until now little-used tool for holding administrators and teachers accountable," the guide says.

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In an interview with the Washington Examiner, Gene Hamilton, America First Legal's general counsel and vice president, said the law had been "on the books for decades" and that it "really provides parents with the ability to access information at a level that we don't think they're aware of right now."

Under the law, public schools that receive federal funding must disclose to parents "any instructional material used as part of the educational curriculum for the student" and "for inspection" must provide "all instructional materials, including teacher's manuals, films, tapes, or other supplementary material which will be used in connection with any survey, analysis, or evaluation as part of any applicable program."

"The federal law does not provide an obligation on the school district to widely disseminate the curriculum or to do anything affirmatively or proactively it functions on this ask-and-ye-shall-receive type of a concept," Hamilton said, meaning parents will have to take the initiative to invoke their rights under the statute.

The provision requiring disclosure of survey materials is of particular importance, the America First Legal guide notes, as "certain school districts have retained survey and data mining companies."

"These companies sell race-focused student and teacher surveys, data management tools, and training on systemic racism and oppression, white supremacy, implicit bias, gender issues, and intersectionality, often under the rubric of Social-Emotional Learning,'" the guide said. "If parents are engaged and object, then none [of] this sort of material should be forced on children. But if parents are disengaged and silent, the PPRA and other laws are ineffective."

Social and emotional learning is a curriculum framework that claims to teach empathy among students, but the companies and organizations that provide its materials have often tied social and emotional learning to racial justice initiatives and aspects of critical race theory.

The presence of critical race theory in public schools has been a source of controversy nationwide as parents have objected to its inclusion in school curricula. The theory teaches that American institutions and culture are systemically racist and oppressive to racial minorities, especially black people.

But parents who seek to invoke the PPRA could encounter resistance from school administrators, Hamilton said, as most schools are likely unaware of their obligations under the statute.

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If a school declines to follow the law, parents have the option to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education, which can "terminate a school's federal funding if the school has violated the law and refuses to voluntarily comply," according to the guide. Such a complaint must be filed within 180 days of a violation.

Original Location: This law can help parents expose critical race theory in schools, conservative group says

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This law can help parents expose critical race theory in schools, conservative group says - Colorado Springs Gazette