A bill proposes to amend the State’s constitution, establishing parental bill of rights

AUGUSTA, Maine (WABI) - A public hearing was held today on a bill proposing an amendment to the state’s constitution to establish a parental bill rights.

Backers say parents in Maine feel their rights to raise their children are slowly being removed.

This includes being denied access to the school records of their children.

With this bill, they say parents will have the right to raise their children how they see fit, including the right to educate their children while still giving the state the right to protect kids when necessary.

Those against the bill also spoke at the hearing saying the wording is just too vague.

”My 13-year-old was encouraged to keep secrets from me by a 26-year-old man who had never even had a conversation with me. By a 26-year-old man who discussed breast binding with her. By a 26-year-old man who overidentified and overshared his own lived experiences with her. Not only did he leave me out of the conversation, but he also left my daughter’s therapist out of the conversation whom she had been seeing for over 8 months,” said Amber Lavigne who supports the bill.

“What does it mean to provide care? If you look at a kid who usually smiles and says, What’s up with you today? And that kid confides something to that counselor that coach that teacher and what happens if a parent says you should have notified me of this and you didn’t not?” Mary Banauto said, opposing the bill.

If approved, Maine would join 16 other states in the country with parental rights in their state statute.