A statewide discussion about parents’ rights has finally come to North Carolina.

Three bills were introduced earlier this week. Senator Deanna Ballard and Representative Keith Kidwell, both Republicans, introduced HB 755 and HB 1067 in the Senate and House, respectively. Then on May 26th, Democrat Senator Sidney Batch filed SB -860. Each of the three bills has parents rights or Parent Bill of Rights in the title.

Parents’ Bill of Rights — or PBR’s as they are referred by policy wonks — are a fashionable way lawmaker have chosen to empower parents to direct the education and upbringing of their children.

What does the public think about a Parents Bill of Rights?

The May 2022 Civitas- Locke Poll asked the following question:

This year twenty-six states have introduced bills to expand parental rights in schools. Such legislation typically reaffirms parental access to curriculum and classroom materials and often authorizes academic and financial transparency requirements for the school. In addition, these bills make parents the primary decision-makers regarding their child’s health and medical decisions and provide parents with opt-out options regarding controversial surveys or age-inappropriate classroom materials.

Would you support or oppose the passage of a Parents Bill of Rights in North Carolina?

Yes, the question is a long one, largely because it was necessary to provide some explanation of PBR.

What did the poll find?

Most of the North Carolinians support PBR, by a margin of more than two to one. Fifty-seven percent of respondents would support such the legislation while 24 percent would oppose it. Roughly the same percentage would neither support or oppose the legislation (9 percent) or are unsure (9 percent) how they would answer the question.

Who supports PBR legislation in North Carolina?

The poll’s crosstabs reveal:  

Men support (59 percent) for PBR is slightly higher than women (55 percent).

Support for PBRs is strongest among Republicans (86 percent) and Unaffiliated (58 percent). Only 27 percent of registered Democrats support PBRs.

Eighty-four percent of conservatives express support for PBRs. Slightly less than half of moderates (48 percent) support PBRs. However, only 16 percent of liberals voiced support for such legislation.

Among races, Whites (61 percent) and Hispanics (60 percent) had the strongest support for parental rights legislation. Black support was less (43 percent) but still significant.

Civiitas Poll was conducted by Cygnal Polling. Six hundred likely General Election Voters were surveyed from May 21-22, 2022. The poll has a margin of error of +/- 3.95%