parental rights

Ralph Reed, founder and chair of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, interviewed 2024 presidential candidates at the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition’s fall banquet in Des Moines Sept. 16, 2023. (Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

GOP presidential candidates focus on abortion, Israel, parental rights at evangelical event

BY: - September 17, 2023

Republican presidential candidates emphasized their support for abortion restrictions, parental rights and Israel while working Saturday night to win over evangelical Iowa caucusgoers. More than 1,000 people gathered in Des Moines for the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition annual fall banquet. The conservative Christian organization has played an influential role in the Republican presidential race […]

Elementary teacher Katie Rinderle and attorney Craig Goodmark await the Cobb County (Georgia) School Board’s decision on Rinderle’s termination. (Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder)

Cobb School Board votes to fire teacher who read book about gender identity

BY: - August 18, 2023

Georgia’s Cobb County School District rejected the advice of a disciplinary tribunal Thursday night and terminated Katie Rinderle, the elementary school teacher who came under fire from some parents after reading a picture book touching on topics of gender fluidity. Speaking after the 4-3 party line vote, Craig Goodmark, an attorney representing Rinderle said the […]

Attorney Craig Goodmark presents evidence in Cobb County, Georgia, teacher Katie Rinderle’s termination tribunal on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023. (Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder)

Georgia teacher grilled over book illustrating gender roles in test of ‘divisive concepts’ law

BY: - August 11, 2023

A Cobb County teacher under fire for reading a picture book touching on gender norms made her case Thursday, the first day of a two-day tribunal that will determine whether she can keep her job. The case is believed to be the first time a Georgia teacher is facing job loss under Georgia’s 2022 divisive […]

A sign reminds voters they need photo ID to vote at polling station at Hillsboro Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tennessee

Candidates vie for two Conway school board seats

BY: - May 8, 2023

Interest in the school board election in one Central Arkansas county has grown after the district became a battleground for “culture war” issues, like transgender bathroom policies, book bans and parental rights. Faulkner County has seen a “very high turnout for a school election,” according to the election commission’s office. There were 4,091 votes cast, […]

Rep. Mindy McAlindon on the House floor

Arkansas Parents’ Bill of Rights legislation pulled for amendments

BY: - April 5, 2023

Both the chair and co-chair of the Senate Education Committee voiced displeasure Wednesday afternoon when they were presented a multi-page amendment to House Bill 1738 that wasn’t properly prepared. Sponsor Rep. Mindy McAlindon, R-Centerton, said there were multiple amendments because she worked with the governor’s office to ensure there were no discrepancies between HB 1738 […]

Rep. Julia Letlow (R-LA) (Drew Angerer/Getty

U.S. House GOP preps for debates on ‘parents rights,’ school vouchers and transgender athletes

BY: - February 8, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans laid the groundwork for some top legislative priorities during a Wednesday hearing that examined public funding for charter schools and voucher programs, as well as increasing parents’ oversight of school curriculum.  The Republican chair of the Education and the Workforce Committee, North Carolina Rep. Virginia Foxx, provided a forum for […]

An ‘unprecedented flood’ of book bans engulfs U.S. school districts, PEN report says

BY: - September 19, 2022

WASHINGTON — More than 1,600 book titles across 32 states were banned from public schools during the 2021-2022 school year, with the bulk of the ban requests coming from a handful of right-wing groups pushing for censorship of books that feature LGBTQ+ characters and characters of color, a new report issued Monday said. “What I […]