Scalise Pushes to Pass Parents Bill of Rights after Nashville School Shooting

In light of the recent events surrounding the Nashville shooting that resulted in the death of three children and three adults, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) joined Family Research Council President Tony Perkins on “Washington Watch” to discuss the vital role of parental influence in the school systems.

“It’s so sad when you hear a tragedy like this,” Scalise said. “I know you and I both, our first thought is to pray for the victims and the families. Unfortunately, you see more and more on the Left [whose] first thought is how can they exploit a tragedy for their own political gain.” Multiple left-wing organizations have begun blaming the “anti-transgender sentiment” from conservative political leaders following The Covenant School tragedy.

Although Scalise was speaking more broadly about the shooting, he also has been a victim in a targeted attack. In the summer of 2017, a gunman opened fire at a congressional baseball practice in Alexandria, Virginia, injuring five people, Scalise being one of them. Although it was a near-death experience, his faith never faltered. “God performed miracles that day,” Scalise reflected, five years after the tragedy occurred.

According to Scalise, a key piece in ensuring the physical and emotional safety of children within the American school system, is passing the Parents Bill of Rights (H.R. 5). If enacted, the bill would allow parents the authority to review their children’s curriculum, meet their child’s teacher twice a year, as well as express any concerns at school board meetings. Last week, Republicans passed the bill out of the House by a vote of 213-208.

This legislation is of upmost importance, according to Perkins, as it would prevent children from being “indoctrinated and being misled by a system that has a value set that, quite frankly, is far removed from where many families are today.” “The Parents Bill of Rights in the House of Representatives is an attempt at guarding the relationship between parents and children when schools seek to usurp or divide,” Meg Kilgannon, senior fellow for Education Studies at FRC, told The Washington Stand.

“I think you also recognize that over time,” Scalise told Perkins, that “the Left has tried to push God out of schools, push our values out of out of all public places, and you see a breakdown in society because of it. So we’ve got to get back to those basic conservative principles that have made this country great.” According to Kilgannon, the bill will do exactly that.

“It’s an acknowledgement of God’s design for the wellbeing of children — that they are born into a family with a loving mother and father, and the state’s only role is to support that family, with intervention being necessary in only the gravest of circumstances. Secret gender support plans are the exact opposite of that biblical approach,” she said.

Although Perkins believes the likelihood of the bill passing the Senate is slim, he was appreciative of the efforts shown by Scalise and Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) for keeping their promises to move the legislation forward. “I commend you and the Republican leadership for pushing forward on the promises that were made,” he said. “I think you’re setting a new bar, a new standard of anticipation. When you say you’re doing something, you’re going to do it. And we hope … you’ll soon have some folks on the other side of the Capitol that’ll be willing to work with you and move these things forward and will have somebody that can sign them into law.”