JACKSON, Miss.—Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves told lawmakers Monday that he wants them to pass a “Parents’ Bill of Rights,” which would allow parents to inspect school curriculums and opt their children out of certain educational materials. It would also prohibit schools from using transgender students’ requested pronouns.
“This Parents’ Bill of Rights would further cement that when it comes to the usage of names, pronouns or health matters, schools will adhere to the will of parents,” the governor said on the Capitol steps Monday.”There is no room in our schools for policies that attempt to undercut parents and require the usage of pronouns or names that fail to correspond with reality.”
Conservative lawmakers around the country have introduced “Parents Bill of Rights” legislation over the past year as Republican lawmakers nationwide have focused on restricting what educators can teach in classrooms.
Mississippi lawmakers have introduced multiple “Parents Bill of Rights” bills this month, though none may make it out of committee by today’s 8 p.m. deadline. Mississippi House Rep. Fred Shanks, R-Brandon, is sponsoring the “Parent’s Bill of Rights Act of 2023.” Mississippi Sen. Chris McDaniel, R-Ellisville, sponsored a similar “Parents’ Bill of Rights.”
‘I Am Daddy’
On Monday morning, McDaniel touted his “Parents Bill of Rights” as he announced a run for lieutenant governor during a press conference at the Mississippi Republican Party headquarters in Jackson.
“We must choose to place parents in control of their children’s lives,” he said at the event. “I am not a co-parent with the government; I am daddy. These kids are my responsibility and (his wife) Jill’s responsibility, not the government’s responsibility. That includes vaccines, that includes personal decision-making processes. That also includes what they are taught in school because I have a right to control that curriculum just as much as anyone else does.”
“I am not a co-parent with the government; I am daddy,” Mississippi Sen. Chris McDaniel said at a press conference announcing his run for lieutenant governor at the Mississippi Republican Party headquarters in Jackson on Monday, Jan. 30, 2023. Photo by Kayode Crown
Leadership referred McDaniel’s bill to