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FederalHB5116directIntroduced

Empower Parents to Protect their Kids Act

  1. Introduced
  2. Passed House
  3. Passed Senate
  4. To President
  5. Became Law

Overview

This bill requires schools receiving federal funding to obtain explicit parental consent before supporting any aspect of a child's gender transition, addressing a major concern for parents about school involvement in gender-related decisions without parental knowledge.

Why it matters: Christian families often want authority over their children's gender-related care and to be informed of school involvement in transition support; this bill protects parental consent and notification rights in that domain.

Topic: Gender & sexuality · classifier confidence 98%

What this changes

Creates a new law or program

Law today: The bill does not spell out the prior law. Currently, schools operate under varying state and local policies regarding parental notification and consent for gender-related matters involving students; federal law does not uniformly require parental consent before schools facilitate gender transitions.

If passed: If enacted, any elementary or secondary school receiving federal funds would be required to obtain written parental consent before helping a child with gender transition in any form—including name and pronoun changes, bathroom access, or clothing policies. This would prevent schools from accommodating a child's gender identity without the parents' knowledge or approval.

AI-generated from the bill text — verify against the official text.

Likely supporters & opponents

Likely support

  • parental-rights advocacy organizations — Parents have the fundamental right to know about and direct major decisions affecting their child's wellbeing and identity.
  • religious-liberty organizations — Schools should not facilitate practices that conflict with parents' religious or moral convictions about gender and childhood development.

Likely opposition

  • LGBTQ-advocacy and civil-liberties organizations — Mandatory parental consent can expose vulnerable minors to family rejection, abuse, or conversion efforts, and undermines student privacy and autonomy.
  • education and child-psychology organizations — Clinical best practices often support affirming a student's gender identity at school as protective of mental health, and parental notification requirements can cause psychological harm to at-risk youth.

AI-inferred typical positions based on the bill’s substance — general stakeholder categories, not confirmed endorsements.

Should I support this?

Likely helpful for Christian families

This bill directly protects parental authority and notification rights in decisions about a child's gender identity—core concerns for Christian parents who view such decisions as family and moral matters requiring parental involvement. It prevents schools from acting on gender-related matters without parental knowledge or consent, strengthening parental authority in a sensitive area.

An AI assessment from a Christian-family perspective — religious freedom, parental rights, and freedom in education — not legal or voting advice.

Official summary

To require elementary schools and secondary schools that receive Federal funds to obtain parental consent before facilitating a child's gender transition in any form, and for other purposes.

Sponsors

  • Mary Miller (R)
  • Anna Luna (R)
  • Sheri Biggs (R)
  • Keith Self (R)
  • Lauren Boebert (R)
  • Pat Harrigan (R)
  • Barry Moore (R)
  • Diana Harshbarger (R)
  • Elise Stefanik (R)
  • Nancy Mace (R)
  • Clay Higgins (R)
  • Glenn Grothman (R)
  • Michael Guest (R)
  • Addison McDowell (R)
  • Dwight Evans (D)
  • Russell Fry (R)
  • Gabe Evans (R)

Status timeline

  1. 2025-09-03Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.H
  2. 2025-09-03Introduced in HouseH

H = House · S = Senate · A = Assembly