Pro-Parent, Pro-Family: Now is South Carolina’s Chance to Be Both

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by TONYA SHELLNUT & SHARON SUPP

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South Carolina lawmakers are considering the Parental Rights Act (H.4757), which has passed full committee and is awaiting a vote on the House floor. This is the Palmetto State’s opportunity to stop being an outlier and instead become one of the most family-friendly states in the nation.

Unlike neighboring states, South Carolina lacks robust protections for parental rights and treats them as a second-class right under state law. While the Legislature’s passage of a 2024 law to help stop secret social transitions in public schools was a step in the right direction, our state needs to do more to join its neighbors in the ranks of pro-family, pro-parent states.

Florida, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Georgia have all passed more comprehensive parental rights laws similar to H. 4757 in recent years. To safeguard families, South Carolina should do the same.

Parents are the first and most important caregivers, protectors, and educators of their children. Long before a child enters a classroom, parents nurture their development, guide their values, and help them grow into responsible adults.

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H. 4757 would codify the fundamental right of parents to raise and educate their children — a right that the U.S. Supreme Court has affirmed for more than 100 years. And it would guarantee parental rights are properly treated as a top-tier right. Parents’ rights would have the highest level of legal and constitutional protection they deserve—like freedom of speech and religion.

The bill would also provide transparency and accountability in education. It would secure parents’ rights in schools by ensuring their prerogative to review curriculum, decide on extracurricular activities, and opt their child out of classroom instruction that conflicts with their family values and beliefs.

Opponents of the bill claim that it would “censor teachers and stifle classroom conversations” because it “would allow parents to exempt their children from any classroom instruction if it conflicts with their ‘beliefs or practices regarding sex, morality, or religion.’”

But the Parental Rights Act doesn’t “censor” or “stifle.” Rather, it protects and preserves.

Parents — not schools — are the primary educators of their children. And H. 4757 would protect parents’ rights by preserving the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Mahmoud v. Taylor. That landmark case was decisive: Parents have a constitutional right to direct the moral and religious upbringing of their children, even in public schools, because parental rights don’t end at the classroom door. Parents have choices in public schools—not just their private homes. South Carolina should safeguard those choices.

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RELATED | PARENTAL RIGHTS ACT IS ABOUT RESTRAINING GOVERNMENT

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And H. 4757 would do even more to protect kids and families. It would also preserve parents’ medical decision-making rights by strengthening parental consent in health care. It would restore parental involvement in non-emergency medical situations up to age 18. Many health care systems nationwide now deny parents access to medical portals for children ages 12-14 unless the minor child consents in writing.

That means children as young as 12 could have independent access and control over their medical records without parental guidance. It happened in Minnesota, where parents of a 12-year-old girl with a rare chromosomal disorder requiring lifelong medical attention were shut out of her electronic medical record.

This is not only contrary to common sense. It’s contrary to law.

The U.S. Supreme Court recognized in Parham v. J.R. nearly 50 years ago that parents have “broad parental authority over minor children” because “parents possess what a child lacks in maturity, experience, and capacity for judgment required for making life’s difficult decisions.”

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Parents can’t fulfill their duty to care for their children without complete access to medical information. The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights agrees. Its recent “Dear Colleague” letter was clear: the HIPAA Privacy Rule “generally gives the parent the right to access the[ir] child’s medical records.”

H. 4757 would be a win-win for South Carolina—and for families. Parental rights would be protected as fundamental. Parents would be guaranteed curriculum transparency. And parents’ rightful role as the primary decision-makers for their children would be preserved. South Carolina should put parents back in the driver’s seat, where they belong.

Additionally, if parents are unjustly sidelined or excluded, H. 4757 would create a much-needed enforcement process with real remedies. Parents would be able to file administrative complaints and, if necessary, a private cause of action in court. Rights without accountability are useless. Parents shouldn’t be left powerless to hold schools responsible.

South Carolina should pass H. 4757 and join its neighbors in becoming a pro-parent, pro-family state. It’s time to recognize parents’ rights as fundamental, guarantee curriculum transparency, and respect parents’ role as their children’s primary decision-makers.

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS…

Tonya Shellnutt (left), a resident of Rock Hill, is senior director of state government relations for Alliance Defending Freedom (@ADFLegal) at its Center for Public Policy. Sharon Supp (right) is legal counsel for the ADF Center for Parental Rights.

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