by Carolyn Martin (CHEC Director of Government Relations)
Are Parents Barriers?
The United States remains the only nation who has not ratified the United Nations Convention of the Child (UNCRC) treaty — and for good reason. The right of parents to direct the upbringing, care, and education of their children based on our Judeo-Christian roots as a country has long been recognized in our jurisprudence as a fundamental right. Since the treaty was enacted across the world in 1990, the pillar of parental rights in America has been under attack. Legislatures have been implementing the treaty on their own, one piece at a time.
Tomorrow (April 13th, beginning just after the rally at CHEC Homeschool Day at the Capitol), there will be a committee hearing where parental rights could again be the victim of this movement to elevate children above their parents. HB23-1003 School Mental Health Assessment will establish a program to place a wedge between child and parent and bring great harm to families across the state in the name of mental health. Children are being put in the driver’s seat of making decisions for themselves and their mental health care at potentially the most vulnerable times in their lives without parental involvement. Instead, adults empowered by the state and serving as replacements for their parents will be their guides.