As the school year gets its legs, some might remember seeing double when the Nebraska Legislature passed LB 71 during its 2024 session. The law, a “parents rights” bill, gave moms, dads and legal guardians a number of “rights” regarding the education of their children.

Included is access to information on curriculum matters — what Johnny and Jenny are learning, testing details and the option to excuse their children from instruction or activity without fear of repercussions, other than Johnny and Jenny missing whatever intrinsic educational value the lesson or activity held.

What many knew was that parents already had the “rights” spelled out in LB 71, hence the double vision. The law codified what school districts practiced.

The parents rights movement has been gaining steam in Nebraska and elsewhere, spurred often by requests for public school districts to ban books from their libraries and classrooms. This space has spent many column inches on the sorry and senseless phenomenon of book banning, including this one that appeared in the Nebraska Examiner more than three years ago.

I refer to that commentary for a couple of reasons, not the least of which is that in it I suggest rather than banning a book — “The 1619 Project” for example — parents and children should read and discuss it together, perhaps finding in those conversations a deeper appreciation for the nation’s history.

Which brings us back to LB 71. Let’s recognize and champion parents rights. But let’s remember students, too, have the “right” to a complete education, one that gives them the entire story from “Captain Underpants” to “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” to the Harry Potter series to true American history.

Patrons of public school districts, too, have a stake in students getting a full-bodied, robust education. We’re building leaders, thinkers, artists … stewards of our democratic way of life. Why shortchange them? Or us?

To get there, public school districts should adopt policies, not simply to comply with LB 71’s requirements, which are spelled out in the law, but also to raise the bar for anyone who wants to alter pedagogy, ban a book or change a school’s curriculum. While the subjects of gender identity, sex, race and the history of slavery are the usual suspects, policies should up the ante for any challenge to books or lessons.

Let’s give challengers demerits, too, for dismissing current curriculum that works just because it fails to fit a particular political, religious or cultural view … realizing, of course, that the country has no one identifiable culture but rather a wondrous mix of them.

A starting point could be simple: Those challenging the inclusion of a book on a reading list or in a school library must first provide proof they have read the book, detailing exactly the offending themes and passages that demonstrate a grasp of the author’s intent. Further, they must also take into account how an experienced and skilled teacher might handle the subject.

None of which takes away the right of parents to exclude a title from their own children, but only those instances when they want to exclude the title from all students.

As for history, use a policy with the same bone structure, requiring challenges to be underscored with some rationale and evidence, especially as they relate to a topic’s inclusion causing harm to students.

Surely some would cry foul, insisting that they know best what their children should be taught and how it should complement what they are teaching them in their own homes. All good. No argument.

But I would argue as I did in this space in 2022 that no scientific evidence exists that indicates reading books about LGBTQ kids “rewires biology.” And, as was said then, if knowing the facts about slavery makes students (or their parents) uncomfortable, good. That’s the perfect starting point for lessons that could trend toward empathy, compassion and discussions of how we can avoid repeating such horrid history.

Finally, beefing up the process of challenges to school subject matter, by its very nature, gives teachers, administrators, parents, students and even patrons the opportunity to work together to solidify, update, modify and do whatever is needed to add rigor and responsibility to curricula. What makes the news most often seems to be videos of school board meetings devolving into shouting matches when teachers, principals and superintendents sometimes face intimidation and threats.

In a world where children learn by watching, those are the least effective lesson plans we could draw up, rights or no rights.

This story was published by Nebraska Examiner, an editorially independent newsroom providing a hard-hitting, daily flow of news. Read the original article: https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/09/08/getting-everyones-rights-right/

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