Restoration of Parental Rights and State Sovereignty Act of 2013 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to prohibit the Secretary of Education from forcing a state to satisfy any requirement imposed as a condition of receiving assistance under an ESEA grant program.
Prohibits the Secretary from releasing assistance to a state under an ESEA grant program unless the state's legislature has by law expressly approved the program. Allows that approval to be accomplished by a vote to affirm a state budget that includes the use of such federal funds, but requires that budget to expressly include any requirement imposed as a condition on the state's receipt of those funds.
Prohibits ESEA funds that are not allocated to a state due to the state's failure to affirmatively agree to their receipt from being reallocated among the other states.
Expresses the intent of Congress that control over public education and parental rights to control their children's education is vested exclusively within the authority reserved to the states and individual Americans by the Constitution, except when states expressly approve federal terms or conditions on educational assistance or the federal government is obliged to enforce minimum federal equal protection or due process standards.
[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2710 Introduced in House (IH)]
113th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2710
To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to restore
State sovereignty over public education and parental rights over the
education of their children.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 17, 2013
Mr. Culberson (for himself and Mr. Bishop of Utah) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and
the Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to restore
State sovereignty over public education and parental rights over the
education of their children.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Restoration of Parental Rights and
State Sovereignty Act of 2013''.
SEC. 2. RESTORATION OF STATE SOVEREIGNTY OVER PUBLIC EDUCATION AND
PARENTAL RIGHTS OVER THE EDUCATION OF THEIR CHILDREN.
Part E of title IX of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 7881 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``Subpart 3--Restoration of State Sovereignty Over Public Education and
Parental Rights Over the Education of Their Children
``SEC. 9541. STATES TO RETAIN RIGHTS AND AUTHORITIES THEY DO NOT
EXPRESSLY WAIVE.
``(a) Retention of Rights and Authorities.--No officer, employee,
or other authority of the Secretary shall enforce against an authority
of a State, nor shall any authority of a State have any obligation to
obey, any requirement imposed as a condition of receiving assistance
under a grant program established under this Act, nor shall such
program operate within a State, unless the legislature of that State
shall have by law expressly approved that program and, in doing so,
have waived the State's rights and authorities to act inconsistently
with any requirement that might be imposed by the Secretary as a
condition of receiving that assistance.
``(b) Amendment of Terms of Receipt of Federal Financial
Assistance.--An officer, employee, or other authority of the Secretary
may release assistance under a grant program established under this Act
to a State only after the legislature of the State has by law expressly
approved the program (as described in subsection (a)). This approval
may be accomplished by a vote to affirm a State budget that includes
the use of such Federal funds and any such State budget must expressly
include any requirement imposed as a condition of receiving assistance
under a grant program established under this Act so that by approving
the budget, the State legislature is expressly approving the grant
program and, in doing so, waiving the State's rights and authorities to
act inconsistently with any requirement that might be imposed by the
Secretary as a condition of receiving that assistance.
``(c) Special Rule for States With Biennial Legislatures.--In the
case of a State with a biennial legislature--
``(1) during a year in which the State legislature does not
meet, subsections (a) and (b) shall not apply; and
``(2) during a year in which the State legislature meets,
subsections (a) and (b) shall apply, and, with respect to any
grant program established under this Act during the most recent
year in which the State legislature did not meet, the State may
by law expressly disapprove the grant program, and, if such
disapproval occurs, an officer, employee, or other authority of
the Secretary may not release any additional assistance to the
State under that grant program.
``(d) Definition of State Authority.--As used in this section, the
term `authority of a State' includes any administering agency of the
State, any officer or employee of the State, and any local government
authority of the State.
``(e) Effective Date.--This section applies in each State beginning
on the 90th day after the end of the first regular session of the
legislature of that State that begins 5 years after the date of the
enactment of the Student Success Act and shall continue to apply in
subsequent years until otherwise provided by law.
``SEC. 9542. DEDICATION OF SAVINGS TO DEFICIT REDUCTION.
``Notwithstanding any formula reallocations stipulated under the
Student Success Act, any funds under such Act not allocated to a State
because a State did not affirmatively agree to the receipt of such
funds shall not be reallocated among the States.
``SEC. 9543. DEFINITION OF STATE WITH BIENNIAL LEGISLATURE.
``In this Act, the term `State with a biennial legislature' means a
State the legislature of which meets every other year.
``SEC. 9544. INTENT OF CONGRESS.
``It is the intent of Congress that other than the terms and
conditions expressly approved by State law under the terms of this
subpart, control over public education and parental rights to control
the education of their children are vested exclusively within the
autonomous zone of independent authority reserved to the States and
individual Americans by the United States Constitution, other than the
Federal Government's undiminishable obligation to enforce minimum
Federal standards of equal protection and due process.''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education.
Llama 3.2 · runs locally in your browser
Ask anything about this bill. The AI reads the full text to answer.
Enter to send · Shift+Enter for new line