House Passes Trump-Backed Bill Protecting Parental Rights From Woke Schools

The House passed legislation Wednesday that would require elementary and middle schools to obtain explicit parental consent before changing a student’s pronouns, altering gender markers in school records, or making certain sex-based accommodations.

The Stopping Indoctrination and Protecting Kids Act passed in a 217-198 vote, advancing a major parental rights measure that would tie certain federal education funding to school compliance.

The bill, also known as the PROTECT Kids Act, was introduced by Rep. Tim Walberg of Michigan, the Republican chairman of the House Committee on Education and Workforce. Walberg said the legislation was written in response to parents who say schools have excluded them from major decisions involving their children’s gender identity, name changes, and pronoun use, the New York Post reported.

“For years, concerned parents have felt ignored as education bureaucrats push radical agendas in schools without their knowledge or input,” Walberg said on the floor of the House in defense of the legislation.

“Schools are facilitating gender transitions or encouraging their students to change their names and pronouns without telling parents. These are enormously consequential decisions that have lasting impacts on a child’s well-being and development,” he added.

“Parents deserve to be part of those conversations,” he continued.

The bill comes amid a growing national debate over whether schools should be allowed to keep gender-related information from parents. In recent years, several school districts have faced lawsuits after being accused of helping students conceal transgender status or gender identity changes from their families.

Last month, The Post reported on a lawsuit against a Connecticut school district over a policy stating that schools “should not disclose information that may reveal a student’s transgender status or gender nonconforming presentation to others, including parents/families/legal guardians.”

Under the House-passed bill, schools would be required to receive parental consent before changing a student’s gender markers in school records. The legislation would also require consent before allowing a student to use bathrooms or locker rooms designated for the opposite sex.

For conservatives, the bill represents a direct defense of parental authority, biological reality, and transparency in public education. Supporters argue that schools exist to educate children, not to make life-altering decisions behind the backs of parents.

Democrats strongly opposed the measure.

Rep. Bobby Scott of Virginia argued that the bill would interfere with state and local control of education and could force schools into difficult situations involving sensitive student information.

“This bill takes away state and local control of curriculum, the very thing that the current administration claims they’re giving back to states by illegally dismantling the Department of Education,” he said.

“Parental involvement is important, and I support that, and it works in virtually all cases,” he continued.

“But this bill is not about involvement, it’s about federal coercion, forcing schools into a situation where they may have to disclose sensitive information about a student even when they know it could put that child’s safety at risk,” he claimed.

The Trump administration strongly backed the legislation, framing it as part of President Donald J. Trump’s broader effort to protect children from ideological activism inside K-12 schools.

The White House issued a policy statement saying the president “strongly supports” the bill.

“Parents are the first and foremost educators and protectors of their children,” it began.

“Yet radical school districts across America have allowed gender ideology indoctrination in schools, even to the point of allowing teachers and other government officials to secretly attempt to socially ‘transition’ a child away from his or her sex without the knowledge or consent of the child’s parents,” the statement continued.

“These policies not only violate existing Federal law, but also betray the trust parents place in schools to educate, not indoctrinate, their children,” it said.

The administration also tied the bill to two executive orders issued by President Trump at the beginning of his second term.

“On January 20, 2025, President Trump issued Executive Order (E.O.) 14168, ‘Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,’ which recognized that there are only two sexes, male and female, and directed agencies to eliminate the promotion of gender ideology,” the statement continued.

“Shortly thereafter, on January 29, 2025, President Trump issued E.O. 14190, Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling,’ which directed Federal agencies to end the use of Federal funds in K-12 schools from supporting ‘the instruction, advancement, or promotion of gender ideology,” the White House noted further.

“The E.O. also directed Federal agencies to protect parental rights, including under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, (FERPA) and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA),” it said.

The vote marks another flashpoint in the national fight over education, parental rights, and the role of government schools in children’s lives.

Republicans argue the issue is simple: parents have a right to know what is happening with their children at school. Democrats, meanwhile, continue defending policies that critics say allow school officials to keep parents in the dark.

As the bill moves forward, the debate is likely to become a major issue heading into the 2026 midterms, especially among families concerned about school transparency, gender ideology, and the erosion of parental authority.