Bill > SF55

This bill establishes a comprehensive Parent's Bill of Rights in Minnesota, defining parents as natural, adoptive, or legal guardians of children 17 years old or younger. The bill aims to protect parents' fundamental rights to direct their children's upbringing, education, and healthcare without governmental interference. Specifically, parents are granted explicit rights including: directing their child's education (public, private, or home-based); accessing school and medical records; making healthcare decisions; providing moral and religious training; giving written consent for medical examinations, treatments, biometric scans, and recordings; and receiving prompt notification if a criminal offense is suspected against their child. The bill prohibits government employees from encouraging a child to withhold information from parents or discriminating against parents who exercise these rights. Importantly, the bill does not protect actions that would constitute child abuse or neglect and does not prevent courts or law enforcement from acting within their official capacity. The legislation emphasizes that these rights are not exhaustive and that parents retain broader, inalienable rights in guiding their children's lives, unless those rights have been legally waived or terminated.