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A4776 establishes the Parents' Bill of Rights Act, codifying New Jersey parents' fundamental right to direct their child's education and requiring public schools to release information on request.
OUR POSITIONA4776, the Parents' Bill of Rights Act, was introduced in the New Jersey Assembly on March 19, 2026, and referred to the Assembly Education Committee. The American Council supports this bill and urges every legislator and constituent who cares about the family to help pass it into law.
The bill's foundation is a declaration of legislative policy that the State's role is to support and empower parental authority, not interfere with it. From that foundation, the bill enumerates concrete rights: parents and guardians of public school students gain the fundamental right to direct and participate in their child's education. That right includes reviewing curriculum, textbooks, and instructional materials, including library books, and schools are expressly prohibited from denying access to those materials or requiring a nondisclosure agreement to see them. It includes access to a broad set of education records, notification when a school identifies physical, mental, or emotional health issues, and the right to be notified before any changes to IEP or 504 plan services. It also includes the right to receive information about significant safety incidents on school grounds and about threats to the broader school community.
We regard several provisions as especially important from a faith and conscience standpoint. The bill grants parents the right to opt out, without academic penalty, of health, family life, or sex education that conflicts with their conscience or sincerely held moral or religious belief. It grants a parallel right to opt out of curriculum a parent believes substantially interferes with a student's religious development, with approved requests entitling the student to a reasonable alternative assignment or independent study. Schools are also required to obtain parental consent before administering surveys, assessments, or questionnaires that collect information on personal beliefs, habits, family life, political or religious beliefs, income, health behaviors, or sexual orientation. These protections respect the family as the primary moral educator of children, a conviction the Council holds as non-negotiable.
The bill also creates accountability structures that give its rights practical force. Boards of education and boards of trustees must establish a policy notifying parents of all enumerated rights and a complaint process for violations. No board, trustee body, or school employee may interfere with or suppress any right the bill establishes. When a parent submits a written request for information, the school must respond within ten school days. The information categories subject to release on request include curriculum materials, course syllabi, advance notice of guest speakers and school assemblies, student health records including the credentials of anyone providing counseling services, education records, upcoming surveys, district policies, and budget information including third-party vendors receiving school funds. These mechanisms turn statutory rights into real-world accountability, which is why the American Council is calling for this bill's passage.
A4776 was introduced on March 19, 2026, and referred to the Assembly Education Committee, where it currently sits awaiting a hearing. The bill's short title and its enumeration of parental rights across more than fifteen statutory provisions suggest a broad scope that typically draws both engaged supporters and organized opposition in committee, making the hearing stage a critical juncture. Because New Jersey legislative sessions operate on a fixed calendar, bills that do not clear committee before the session closes must be reintroduced, which means constituent contact directed at Education Committee members is most consequential right now, before a hearing is scheduled.