The Leader’s Floor Lookout: Wednesday, May 20, 2026

For years, schools across the country have increasingly cut parents out of decisions involving their children while promoting woke gender ideology in classrooms.

Under the Biden Administration, school boards tried to silence concerned parents while the Department of Justice and FBI investigated those who spoke out at school board meetings. At the same time, some schools encouraged students to transition to the opposite gender without informing their parents.

A report from Parents Defending Education found that 1,200 school districts—covering 21,000+ schools and 12 million students—have policies requiring or encouraging staff to withhold information about a child's gender transition from parents.

Parents deserve transparency and must remain central in their children’s lives. That’s why House Republicans are advancing legislation to stop schools from socially transitioning children without parental consent and prevent taxpayer dollars from funding gender ideology in classrooms.

Chairman Tim Walberg’s legislation, H.R. 2616, the Stopping Indoctrination and Protecting Kids Act, ensures parents remain central in their children’s lives by prohibiting federally funded elementary or middle schools from socially transitioning a child – such as by changing their name, pronouns, or bathroom access – without parental consent, and blocking federal funding from supporting gender ideology teachings in classrooms.

It’s past time we stop taxpayer-funded indoctrination and the sidelining of parents in America’s schools. House Republicans are fighting to keep parents in the know when it comes to their children and make sure parental rights are protected and respected in schools.