While South Carolina is passing common-sense bi-partisan legislation protecting parental rights, Alaska’s legislature appears to be doing the opposite. Rather than support Alaska families, some critics argue, Alaska’s Senate Bill 90 moves Alaska in the wrong direction.
By a vote of 116-1, this week South Carolina’s Parental Rights bill passed the House reinforcing a principle most Americans agree with: parents are the best protectors of their children and must be entrusted to nurture their education and well-being.
House Bill 4757, known as the Parental Rights Act, passed with 100% support from Democrats and only a single Republican “Nay” vote.
In a press release by “Moms for Liberty” the organization praised the legislation, stating, “For many families, this bill represents more than policy. It represents partnership. It strengthens communication between schools and parents and ensures families remain informed and engaged in decisions impacting their children.”
While opinion polls show strong nation-wide majority support for the 2025 U.S. Supreme Court decision regarding parental consent in Mahmoud v Taylor, Alaska seems strangely out-of-step.
Senate Bill 90, sponsored by Senator Cathy Giessel, does not serve Alaska’s youth or the parents of kids enrolled in public schools, many believe. Rather, by making it easier for school health officials to withhold information from parents, the bill expands school district control and replaces parental care with that of health administrators. Jim Minnery, of Alaska Family Council, summarized the concerns of Alaskan parents this way:
“Many teachers, principals, counselors and school board members are abusing their positions of authority by actively undermining the inherent right of families and faith leaders to direct the upbringing of their children. Instruction, from people we tell our children to honor, that implicitly endorses specific ideologies regarding gender or sexuality is not a neutral educational matter. It is a subject of core spiritual significance”.
Key provisions of the South Carolina Bill include:
- Affirm and enumerate the fundamental rights of parents to direct the upbringing, education, healthcare, and general welfare of their children.
- Require schools to implement these rights through written policies.
- Provide parents greater access to educational records, curriculum, lesson plans, and guidance evaluations.
- Require schools to provide at least five days’ notice and obtain affirmative parental consent before students participate in certain activities (e.g., those related to gender, sexuality, or sensitive topics).
- Raise the age for minors to consent to non-emergency medical treatment from 16 to 18, strengthening requirements for parental consent.
- Repeal or amend sections allowing certain health services to minors without parental consent.
- Establish administrative procedures to investigate and resolve alleged violations of parental rights.
- Address protections around children’s biometric data and other areas of parental authority.
For the full official text and status, check the South Carolina Legislature’s site: H.4757.
Read Senate Bill 90 here: Alaska Senate Bill 90.
Related Story: SC House advances bill giving parents more control over children’s health care and education
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