Carlton strongly advocates for two fundamental things that he believes are essential for parents. Firstly, he proposes a Parental Bill of Rights, which will ensure that the rights of parents are protected and respected. Secondly, he suggests that we adopt a rating system for school books, similar to the one used for movies, video games, and music. The rating system will include G, PG, PG-13, and R ratings for books in K-12 schools. Books deemed inappropriate or explicit, rated as X or XXX, will not be allowed in the school system. Carlton is convinced that implementing these two measures will resolve the ongoing disputes between the left and right over book banning. These ratings would only apply to minors under the age of 18.
Carlton supports a Parental Rights Bill, as other states have done. Currently, South Carolina does not have a Parental Bill of Rights. We need one, and here is the proposed language below.
The "Parents' Bill of Rights" is established by this bill, which aims to protect a parent's fundamental rights to direct their minor child's upbringing, education, healthcare, and mental health. The bill emphasizes that the state, political subdivisions, any other governmental entity, or other institution cannot infringe upon these rights. If any of these entities infringe upon a parent's fundamental right, they must show that their action is reasonable and necessary to achieve a compelling state interest, and the action must be narrowly tailored and not otherwise served by less restrictive means.
The bill also lists the rights that a parent possesses to direct their child's education and be informed about the child's educational programs. Additionally, the bill requires a school district to promote parental involvement in the public school system by allowing access to the child's studies and instructional materials while recognizing a parent's right to withdraw the child from objectionable portions of the school's curriculum.
Moreover, the bill requires that a health care practitioner must obtain a parent's permission before providing services, prescribing medicine to the child, or performing a medical procedure - unless otherwise provided by law. The bill also provides a misdemeanor penalty for any health care practitioner or similar person who violates these health care provisions and subjects them to disciplinary actions.
The proposed bill introduces the "Parents' Bill of Rights". It aims to protect the fundamental rights of parents to make decisions regarding their minor children's upbringing, education, healthcare, and mental health. The bill prohibits the state, its political subdivisions, other governmental entities, or institutions from infringing upon these rights. However, in case of infringement, the state must demonstrate that the action is reasonable and necessary to achieve a compelling state interest, and that it is not possible to achieve the same result through less restrictive means.
