At a time when activists and some in government are pushing the limits of their roles, it is important for parents to know their rights and freely exercise them.

Center for Arizona Policy (CAP) supports the right of parents to guide their children’s lives and to be responsible for every aspect of their care, including all education-related and health-related decisions.

To that end, CAP continues to work with legislators on laws that protect and improve upon the parental rights spelled out in Arizona law that ensure the fundamental control of their children’s upbringing. Recent changes to Arizona’s law have further established parents as the decision makers, especially in education.

Parents’ Bill of Rights

Recognizing the need to protect parental rights in state law, CAP worked with the Arizona Legislature in 2010 to pass the Parents’ Bill of Rights. This statute sets forth the broad rule of parental rights: “The liberty of parents to direct the upbringing, education, health care and mental health of their children is a fundamental right.” (A.R.S. § 1-601(A)). The government may not interfere with parental rights unless it demonstrates a compelling state interest “of the highest order, is narrowly tailored and is not otherwise served by a less restrictive means.” (A.R.S. § 1-601(B)). This standard allows for children to be protected from abusive situations (A.R.S. § 1-602(B)), while still ensuring that parents’ rights are not infringed by government officials who may simply believe they know better than a parent. The Parents’ Bill of Rights recognizes a parent’s right to:

• Direct the education of their child.
• Direct the upbringing of their child.
• Direct the moral or religious training of their child.
• Make healthcare decisions for their child.
• Access and review all medical records relating to their child.
• Provide written permission before a biometric scan is performed on their child.
• Provide written permission before any record of their child’s blood or DNA is created, stored, or shared.
• Provide written permission before any videos or voice recordings are made of their child, with certain exceptions (for example, security or surveillance of school property).
• Be notified promptly if there is suspicion that a criminal offense has been committed against their child.
• Access information about a Department of Child Safety investigation involving the parent and their child.

However, parents’ rights are not limited to those enumerated in the statute: “[u]nless those rights have been legally waived or legally terminated, parents have inalienable rights that are more comprehensive than those listed in this section. This chapter does not prescribe all rights of parents. Unless otherwise required by law, the rights of parents of minor children shall not be limited or denied.” (A.R.S. § 1-602(D)).

The statute goes on, “[a]ny attempt to encourage or coerce a minor child to withhold information from the child’s parent shall be grounds for discipline of an employee of this state, any political subdivision of this state or any other governmental entity, except for law enforcement personnel.” (A.R.S. § 1-602(C)).

Parental Rights and Education

Arizona law also protects the right of parents to direct the education of their children. This includes the right to select the type of education the parent deems best for their child, including district, charter, private, homeschool, online or through the Empowerment Scholarship Account program (A.R.S. § 15-802). In addition to the parental rights listed in the Parents’ Bill of Rights, Arizona law also spells out specific rights parents have if their child attends a district or charter school.

District Schools. In a district school, parents have the right to (A.R.S. § 15-102):

• Opt their child out of any learning material or activity that the parent finds harmful to their child. This includes material that questions beliefs or practices related to sex, morality, or religion.
• Opt their child out of any activity the parent deems objectionable because of sexual content, violent content, or profane or vulgar language (R.S. § 15-113(A)).
• Opt their child in to sex education instruction if provided by the school district. Without written parental permission, children cannot participate in sex education.
• Be able to review any proposed sex education curricula 60 days prior to its approval and also be notified at least two weeks before any instruction is offered.
• Be notified in advance and given the opportunity to opt their child into any classes or presentations on sexuality in classes other than sex education, such as history or literature (HB 2035).
• Opt their child in to any video, audio, or electronic materials that are inappropriate for the age of the student. This means the school cannot show a rated-R movie to students under 18 years of age without signed, written permission from the child’s parent (R.S. § 15-113(D)).
• Opt their child out of instruction on the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS).
• Excuse their child from school attendance for religious purposes.
• Be informed about the nature and purpose of extracurricular student clubs and activities.
• Access instructional materials and review courses of study and textbooks.
• Refuse to provide information for the Student Accountability Information System that does not relate to the provision of educational services to the student (R.S. § 15-1042(D)).

For additional parental rights and responsibilities in district schools, see A.R.S. § 15-102(A)(7).

Charter Schools. In charter schools, parents have the right to (A.R.S. § 15-113):

• Opt their child out of any activity the parent deems objectionable because of sexual content, violent content, or profane or vulgar language. The charter school may require parents to waive this requirement as a condition of enrollment if the school provides a complete list of books and materials to be used during the school year.
• Opt their child in to any video, audio, or electronic materials that are inappropriate for the age of the student. This means the school cannot show a rated-R movie to students under 18 years of age without signed, written permission from the child’s parent.
• Opt their child in to sex education instruction if provided by the charter school. Without written parental permission, children cannot participate in sex education ( Admin. Code § R7-2-303(A)(1)(a)(i)).
• Be notified in advance and given the opportunity to opt their child into any classes or presentations on sexuality in classes other than sex education, such as history or literature (HB 2035).
• Be able to review any proposed sex education curricula 60 days prior to its approval and also be notified at least two weeks before any instruction is offered.

It’s important to note above that some curricula requires parents to opt-in their child to such instruction, while only a couple require them to opt-out their child. This provides an additional layer of protection in most cases.

Controversial Subjects 

HB 2898 included several provisions designed to limit controversial curricula, such as Critical Race Theory (CRT). The language included a prohibition on using public funding on “instruction that presents any form of blame or judgement on the basis of race, ethnicity or sex.” It prohibited schools from allowing instruction promoting the notion that “one race, ethnic group or sex is inherently morally or intellectually superior to another.”

Maricopa County Superior Court judge Katherine Cooper struck down that and other provisions. The Arizona Supreme Court is scheduled to take up the case in November.

Parents are often unaware their child’s school is teaching Critical Race Theory, as it is frequently disguised in nondescript terms, such as Social Emotional Learning (SEL), Action Civics, Cultural Response Teaching, and many other terms. See a more extensive list here, where Building Education For Students Together (BEST) provides comprehensive resources for parents. \

Watch: Heritage Foundation produced a brief video explaining Critical Race Theory.

Parental Rights and Medical Care 

Parents also have important rights regarding the medical care and treatment of their children under Arizona law. In addition to the health care provisions in the Parents’ Bill of Rights discussed above, Arizona’s parents have specific rights found elsewhere in state law, including:

• Requiring written permission before a mental health screening is performed on a minor in a non-clinical setting (e.g., outside of a doctor’s office or clinic) (R.S. § 36-2272).
• Requiring written permission before any mental health treatment is performed on a minor, unless it is an emergency (R.S. § 36-2272).
• Requiring written parental consent before a physician or entity performs or seeks to perform a surgical procedure on a minor (R.S. § 36-2271).
• Requiring parental consent before a pharmacist administers an immunization or vaccine to a minor (R.S. § 32-1974(M)).
• Requiring written parental consent before a minor donates blood (R.S. § 44-134).
• Opting a minor out of immunizations at the beginning of the school year due to parents’ personal beliefs (R.S. § 15-873(A)(1)).
• Requiring notarized parental consent before a minor can have an abortion, unless the minor obtains a court order (R.S. § 36-2152).
• Requiring parental communication before a do-not-resuscitate order is placed on a minor’s medical chart (R.S. § 36-419).

Unfortunately, parents’ rights are undermined by two state laws that allow minors to consent to medical treatment without parental consent. State law allows a minor to seek treatment for a sexually-transmitted disease (A.R.S. § 44-132.01) or for substance abuse (A.R.S. § 44-133.01) without parental consent or involvement. Also, Arizona law does not require parental consent for prescription medications for minors, including contraceptives.

ICYMI

• Former Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice denounces Critical Race Theory,

“I would like Black kids to be completely empowered, to know that they are beautiful in their Blackness, but in order to do that I don’t have to make White kids feel bad for being White.”

• Breakpoint writes, “There’s no such thing as values-free education.”

“Stripping morals from education—or, more accurately, attempting to strip morals from education—is a dangerous idea with dangerous consequences.”

• Read here a brief filed by the Texas Attorney General’s office in response to the Biden Administration’s request that the U.S. Supreme Court halt Texas’ heartbeat law.

“The United States’ lawsuit against Texas is extraordinary in its breadth and consequence, having an impact on precedents that have existed far longer than any right to abortion has been recognized. Nevertheless, the federal government asks this Court to apply the ‘ad hoc nullification machine’ that pushes aside any doctrine of constitutional law that stands in the way of abortion rights.”

• Read here how lawmakers are “Trying to Sneak Gender Dogma into Bill on Family Violence.”

“The language is designed to give gender ideology a toehold in education and any place that receives federal money.”