HARRISBURG – Sen. Doug Mastriano (R-33) voted on three bills today that prioritize parents’ role in fostering their children’s education.
Mastriano joined six other members of the Senate Education Committee in approving the following bills:
- Senate Bill 1277 requires districts to identify sexually explicit content in school curriculum and materials and notify parents that their child’s coursework includes such content.
- Senate Bill 1278 would prohibit classroom instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation for pre-kindergarten through fifth-grade students, consistent with the timeline for when the existing academic standards on general sex education begins in sixth grade.
- House Bill 2169 establishes the Lifeline Scholarship Program, which offers grants to students trapped in the bottom 15% of school districts to attend a different institution. The grant can cover tuition, curriculum, tutoring or services for special education students.
“Both SB 1277 and SB 1278 empower parents to ensure their children are not exposed to sexually explicit materials and bizarre discussions about gender identity,” Mastriano said. “Just this week, I had a visitor to my office who showed me some of the explicit materials found in her child’s school library. It was shocking to say the least. Schools need to be focused on educating – not indoctrinating – our students. The classroom needs to be a place for learning, not a place for gender theory lessons and grooming.”
On HB 2169, Mastriano stated that expanding school choice offers a pathway to success for children assigned to failing districts.
“Families shouldn’t have to sacrifice their children’s future simply because their zip code binds them to an untenable public school,” Mastriano said. “The money should follow the child, not a system. HB 2169 allows children to escape the worst performing public schools in our commonwealth.”
All three bills now move to the full Senate for consideration.
Senator Mastriano has also introduced SB 996 which creates a parental right statute to ensure parents have the final say over directing the upbringing, education, care and welfare of their child.
Contact: Josh Herman