House GOPers OK ed. ‘rights’

House Republicans voted overwhelmingly to pass an education bill aimed at protecting parental rights on Friday despite outcry from Democrats like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez who likened the law to “fascism.”

The GOP passed the Parents Bill of Rights Act in a 213-208 vote, with five Republicans opposing the measure. No Democrats voted in favor of the bill.

“This bill is not complex or complicated,” said Rep. Julia Letlow (R-La.), who authored the bill and defended it Thursday. “And contrary to what you may hear from my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, it is not an attack on our hard-working teachers, who will always be the heroes in my eyes.”

The bill would force public schools to disclose all curricula, reading lists, library books and budget costs, as well as require parental consent to change a child’s gender status.

The law makes good on a campaign promise from the House Speaker Kevin McCarthy that his Republican majority would keep education issues at the forefront of its governing strategy. Democrats, in opposing the bill, cited concerns that it would target LGBTQ+ students and ban certain books from school libraries.

“They want to ban books, they want to bully the LGBTQ+ community . . . That’s their educational agenda,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Thursday.

Ocasio-Cortez called the bill “fascist,” saying: “This Republican bill is asking the government to force the outing of LGBT people before they are ready . . . My progressive value is . . . freedom over fascism.”