JEFFERSON CITY – Missouri House Speaker Pro Tem John Wiemann wants to ensure children are being taught appropriate subject matter in the classroom, and also wants to give parents access to the instructional material being taught to their kids.
Wiemann pre-filed HB1835 to create academic performance standards for social studies curriculum in Missouri schools.
He said the goal is to have material taught in the classroom that will properly develop each student’s civic knowledge.
“Parents around the state are very concerned about some of the subject matter that has shown up in our classrooms such as critical race theory. It’s important that we give our kids a complete picture of our nation’s history, but also that we provide this information in a way that is accurate and unbiased. Parents should not have to worry that their kids are being exposed to hateful, racist ideologies when they send them to school,” said Wiemann, R-O’Fallon.
Wiemann also filed HB1834 to make it clear that schools must be transparent about the instructional material they are using in their classrooms. The bill specifies that any request for information on material used in the classroom must be provided within forty-five days and that it will be provided at no charge for residents of the school district.
Wiemann said parents should have full knowledge of the subject matter being taught to their kids.
“We’ve seen parents and even my fellow legislators request this information only to meet strong resistance from schools that don’t want to provide it. Parents deserve to know what Missouri House of Representatives is being taught to their kids and my bill simply ensures they will be able to obtain that information quickly and without having to pay excessive fees,” said Wiemann.
The bills pre-filed by Wiemann on Dec. 6 will be considered by the General Assembly when it convenes for the 2022 legislative session on Wednesday, Jan. 5.