Today, Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07) voted against the disingenuously named Parents Bill of Rights Act, H.R. 5, which creates unnecessary and burdensome reporting requirements for schools, diverts essential resources, promotes censorship, and creates a hostile school environment for LGBTQI+ students.  Instead, Fletcher voted for alternative legislation House Democrats offered that, if enacted, would create a designated parent coordinator at every public school, increase funding for statewide family engagement centers, increase funding for full-service community schools, prevent schools from banning books and censoring the teaching of history, including Black history, Latino history, AAPI history, Native American history, LGBTQI+ history, women’s history, and the Holocaust.  In particular, Congresswoman Fletcher noted the bill’s tangible harms to LGBTQI+ students by requiring schools to notify parents of a student’s identity exploration, regardless of the harm this could cause to the student.

“Residents of Texas’ diverse Seventh Congressional District care deeply about ensuring quality education for our children, and the active engagement of parents across the district is vital to that effort,” said Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher.  “Today’s dangerous and disingenuously named bill does not take meaningful steps to increase or support parental engagement in schools or create parental rights for our diverse families.  Instead, it seeks to draw our schools and our students into political culture wars.  At home and in Washington we see the dangerous efforts of politicians interfering in our schools under false pretenses, and this bill is no different.  For these reasons, I voted no today.

“All our children deserve a safe and affirming school environment,” Congresswoman Fletcher continued.  “I am deeply disappointed that through this bill the new Republican majority has chosen to prioritize legislation that isolates LGBTQI+ students in particular and exacerbates the challenges they already face by creating a hostile environment at school.  Our focus must be on building safe, inclusive, and supportive learning environments for all students.”

Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher represents Texas’ Seventh Congressional District in the Houston and the surrounding area.  She is a Vice Chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, a coalition of lawmakers working toward the extension of equal rights, the repeal of discriminatory laws, the elimination of hate-motivated violence, and the improved health and well-being for LGBTQI+ individuals.