Topic: Education/Parents Rights

California lawmakers are advancing SB 934 – a bill that could significantly change how counseling is practiced and expand legal risk for both professionals and families.

In an effort to workaround the Supreme Court’s ruling that counselors are free to counsel gender-confused minors to be comfortable with their sex, these provisions create long term uncertainty for mental health professionals and those involved in care decisions.

SB 934 creates new pathways for lawsuits tied to counseling conversations and decisions, while extending the timeframe for bringing claims far beyond typical limits.

• Individuals who were minors at the time of counseling could bring claims decades later – up to 40
• Adults could bring claims up to 10 years after treatment, or longer depending on when harm is discovered
• The bill also allows for claims based on delayed recognition of psychological harm, further extending potential liability

This comes as policymakers consider next steps following recent legal challenges around how counseling conversations are regulated, raising broader questions about free speech and the role of the state in private counseling settings. In addition, liability may extend beyond individual providers to those who employ or supervise them. 

Together, these provisions create long term uncertainty for mental health professionals and those involved in care decisions.

This could have a chilling effect on open and honest conversations in counseling – where trust and the ability to speak freely are essential.

It also raises important questions about whether families will continue to have access to counseling that reflects their needs and values.

At its core, the bill risks:

• Expanding legal liability far beyond typical standards
• Discouraging open dialogue in private counseling settings
• Limiting access to a full range of care options for families

California lawmakers are moving this bill forward – and they need to hear from you now.

Colorado lawmakers are advancing a bill that could fundamentally change how counseling works – limiting what professionals can say and expanding legal risk for families and providers alike. 

HB 26-1322 creates a sweeping new cause of action tied to counseling conversations and decisions. It allows lawsuits not only against licensed mental health professionals, but also against those who employ or work with them.

In an effort to workaround the Supreme Court’s ruling that counselors are free to counsel gender-confused minors to be comfortable with their sex, these provisions create long term uncertainty for mental health professionals and those involved in care decisions. The bill also allows for economic, noneconomic, and punitive damages, significantly raising the stakes for anyone involved. 

Perhaps most concerning, it permits claims to be brought at any time, with no statute of limitations – meaning lawsuits could be filed years or even decades later.

This creates serious uncertainty for counselors and could have a chilling effect on open, honest conversations in private sessions. 

It also raises important questions about whether parents will be able to continue accessing counseling that reflects their child’s needs and values. 

At its core, this bill risks:

• Limiting free speech in private counseling conversations
• Expanding legal liability far beyond typical standards
• Making it harder for families to access the care they choose

Colorado lawmakers are moving this bill forward quickly – and they need to hear from you now.

Student test scores have plummeted as too many of America’s public schools abandon the fundamentals of education in favor of political indoctrination. Increasingly, our nation’s children are not taught how to think but what to think.

In Fairfax County, Virginia, West Springfield High School currently displays a leftist exhibit in honor of Women’s History Month. Titled “ABCs to Me,” the letter “A” is not for a notable woman of history such as Aviator Amelia Earhart, rather, “A is for Abortion,” accompanied by an image of a coat hanger and a positive pregnancy test.

The history hallway is decorated with many other politicized messages and images. “H is for Hope,” features an image of Kamala Harris. 

“J is for Justice,” features Lady Liberty holding a female symbol in place of a torch, with her other fist in the air, and is surrounded by the Palestinian flag, Ukraine flag, and transgender flag. “L is for Leadership,” features only Democrats, including Kamala Harris, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Michelle Obama. “M is for Mansplain,” villainizing male students. There are certainly better ways to celebrate women’s history than alienating men.

And what women’s history month is not complete without advocating the erasure of women? Note that “T is for Trans Women.” In a district that continues to mandate preferred pronouns and allows males in women’s sports and bathrooms, this is abhorrent but not particularly surprising. 

We must support fundamental education for our nation’s children and purge the politicized rot from our public schools’ classrooms and hallways. Urge Fairfax County Public Schools’ superintendent, Michelle Reid, to remove the “ABCs to Me” display in West Springfield High School now!

Children, who are COVID-19’s lowest risk population, are once again being forced to make enormous sacrifices even after the end of the pandemic. 

Shutdowns, mask, and vaccine mandates are again being pushed in schools and by their powerful allies.

A Montgomery County, Maryland elementary school is mandating masks for third-graders, and Kinterbish Junior High School in Alabama reintroduced masking.

In higher education, Dillard University in New Orleans brought masks back. Rutgers University and Georgetown University have also mandated masks and over 80 colleges and universities are still mandating vaccines. At the University of Michigan, students who test positive for COVID-19 must leave campus, or isolate themselves, much to their confusion.

And it’s not just masks. School districts in Texas and Kentucky have shut down due to COVID-19 outbreaks. School closures are happening in other areas, citing extreme heat and teacher strikes.

Teachers unions are flexing, at students’ expense.

Teachers unions are too eager to close schools, demand masks, and keep parents quiet and fearful. Those unions have powerful partners willing to push the message that COVID is back.

• Former White House official Dr. Anthony Fauci is back in the media, saying “there’s no doubt that masks work,” and urging people to follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) latest guidance. We now know that masks don’t work, from the most comprehensive analysis of studies on mask efficacy conducted by Oxford epidemiologist Tom Jefferson.
• Teachers unions influenced the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration and urged the Department of Justice to investigate parents who challenged school closings and prolonged masking. 
• When President of the American Federation of Teachers Randi Weingarten was criticized for shutting down schools, President Joe Biden personally called her, saying, “I am not abandoning you on schools. I want you to know that.” 
• Teachers unions demanded and got $200 billion from taxpayers – which to date has not been spent!

These actions have had disastrous effects on our children. Our children are paying the price with the loss of two decades of learning, mental health issues including depression and anxiety, and according to the CDC, an increase in developmental disabilities in children due to prolonged masking.

“We know children are largely safe from COVID,” said IWF’s Education Freedom Center Director Ginny Gentles on Fox News. “This is always a low risk population and masking only harms children, particularly children with special needs. This desire to do something and the something being masking has to stop.”

Citing the now famous line, “The child is not a mere creature of the state,” from the 1925 Supreme Court decision in Pierce v. the Society of Sisters, Gentles continued:

“We have known for a long time that parents have the right to direct the upbringing and education of their children. But somehow school districts have forgotten this and want to hide information from parents. And that’s why it’s important to stand up to them.”

Mandatory masking in schools is unscientific, unfair to kids, and purely political. It is our right as parents to decide what is best for our children, including sending them to school without masks. 

Is your school requesting masks? 

Take action today and push back on mask mandates at your school. This template letter provides a starting point for you to express your concerns with school officials.

Is your local newspaper pushing powerful union-crafted messages? Tell everyone! Here are resources on masking, closures and parents rights to help you write a letter to the editor. How To: Write a Letter to the Editor

Learn more about masking:

• Two Truths and a Lie: Children and Masking
• The Downsides of Masking Young Children are Real
• I’m a Doctor. Here’s Why My Kids Won’t Wear Masks This School Year
• Let my children take off their masks, the science says it is safe 
• Mandatory Masking of School Children is a Bad Idea
• Young kids are at low COVID risk in schools, but masking them could do long-term damage 
• It’s 98 Degrees Out. Why Is My Child Wearing a Mask?
• Mask Mandates Did Nothing. Will Any Lessons Be Learned?

Learn more about the effects of school closures:

• Policy Focus: Learning Loss
• ​Two Truths And A Lie: Learning Loss
• FACT CHECK: Is There No Such Thing As Learning Loss?
• Hearing | The Consequences Of School Closures
• Hearing | American Education Opportunities
• Students Going Back To School Shouldering The Weight Of Pandemic Learning Loss

Learn more about how to take control of your child’s education: 

• In 60 Seconds – Parental Rights
• Policy Focus: Parents Taking Control of Children’s Education