Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has signed a parental rights bill that allows students to be taken off campus for religious instruction. The law also mandates that schools must inform parents if their child seeks to identify as the opposite sex.
Known as House Bill 8, or the “Parents’ Bill of Rights,” the law was signed on Wednesday alongside various other legislative proposals.
The bill, primarily sponsored by Ohio Representatives D.J. Swearingen and Sara Carruthers, asserts that “a parent has a fundamental right to make decisions concerning the upbringing, education, and care of the parent's child.”
According to the bill, “A school district board of education shall collaborate with a sponsoring entity of a released time course in religious instruction to identify a time to offer the course during the school day.” It further states that “while in attendance in a released time course in religious instruction, a student shall not be considered absent from school,” and “no student may be released from a core curriculum subject course to attend a religious instruction course.”
HB 8 requires school districts to ensure that “any sexuality content is age-appropriate and developmentally appropriate for the age of the student receiving the instruction.”
The bill also prohibits schools from “directly or indirectly encouraging a student to withhold from a parent information concerning the student's mental, emotional or physical health or well-being, or a change in related services or monitoring.”
Aaron Baer, president of the Columbus-based Center for Christian Virtue, praised the signing of HB 8, stating that DeWine “has done an incredible service for Ohio families.” He asserted, “Parents, not government bureaucrats, should be making healthcare and education decisions for their kids,” adding that “HB 8 protects children by safeguarding parents' rights to make important decisions for their children.”
Conversely, progressive groups, including the Ohio chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, condemned the legislation, referring to it as the “Forced Outing Bill” and the “Unsafe Students Act.”
The ACLU of Ohio claimed, “House Bill 8 would restrict how so-called ‘sexuality content’ can be taught in schools and would potentially put students’ safety at serious risk, particularly LGBTQ+ students, and eviscerate the trusted relationships between students and their teachers.”
The Ohio Senate passed the bill with a vote of 24-7 last month, while the Ohio House voted 57-31 to concur with any changes made to the legislation.
