Should a Constitutional Amendment Protect Parental Rights? (S. Joint Res. 48)

What is S. Joint Res. 48?

(Updated May 13, 2020)

This resolution would propose an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that guarantees certain parental rights. The amendment would certify parents have a fundamental right to direct the upbringing, education, and care of their children. It would add that the parental right to direct their child’s education includes the right to choose — as an alternative to public education — public education, private, religious, or home schools and the right to make reasonable choices within public schools for one’s child.

Neither the U.S. government nor any state could infringe these rights without demonstrating that its governmental interest as applied to the person is of the highest order and not otherwise served. No treaty nor any source of international law could be employed to supersede, modify, interpret, or apply the rights guaranteed by this amendment. Parental rights guaranteed by the amendment could not be denied or abridged on account of disability. This amendment could not be construed as applying to a parental action or decision that would end life.

Because it proposes a constitutional amendment, after this resolution’s passage by two-thirds of both chambers of Congress it would have to be ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures (38 states) to amend the U.S. Constitution.

Argument in favor

Parents have an inherent, natural right to direct the upbringing, education, and care of their children and the U.S. Constitution should protect parents from having that right infringed by the government.

Argument opposed

There is no need for a parental rights amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the court system can be relied upon to appropriately balance the rights of parents versus the interest of the government.

Impact

Children and their parents; state legislatures; and the U.S. Constitution.

Cost of S. Joint Res. 48

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Sponsoring Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) touted his proposal as a way to clearly protect the rights of parents as they raise their children by enshrining those rights into the Constitution:

“The rights of parents are under assault from bureaucrats who think they know what’s best for someone else’s child. Parental rights do not and should not end when the child leaves their home.”

This legislation has the support of five cosponsors in the Senate, all of whom are Republicans.

Media:

• Sponsoring Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) Press Release
  
• Heartland Institute (In Favor)
  
• ParentalRights.org (In Favor)
  
• PJ Media (In Favor)