Arizona Superintendent Tom Horne is making headlines for teaming up with the federal government on parents' rights. He has sent letters to Arizona schools, asking them to prove they're following both federal privacy laws and state laws protecting parents' rights, or risk losing federal funding, as reported by the Arizona Department of Education.

According to a recent report by Arizona Department of Education, schools are being called out for what Horne describes as a "misapplication" of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. His contention is rooted in instances where schools have, allegedly, chosen to withhold information from parents about their children. Horne cites examples where students were given the option to keep secret their chosen pronouns or where materials like emancipation paperwork were distributed to students without parental knowledge. The new federal directive doesn't just ask but requires schools to affirmatively show that such practices are not being followed.

Horne's push aligns with Arizona's own stance on parental rights, outlined in the state law A.R.S. 1-602, which essentially holds that parental rights over a minor child should remain unobstructed and reserved to the parent. The recent development comes as no small victory for Horne, who established the Empower Hotline back in 2023 to address such concerns. "The Secretary of Education is right to be concerned about schools that have misapplied privacy law to prevent parents from being fully informed about their children’s time at school," Horne stated in his announcements. "Misinforming parents or withholding information is an outrageous abuse of a school’s authority," as obtained by the Arizona Department of Education.

A letter from U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon has been included in the notifications sent to Arizona schools, outlining the federal position on parents' rights. The Arizona Department of Education is quickly working to ensure compliance. With the April 30 deadline approaching, all eyes are on Arizona schools to see if they will meet the new federal and state expectations and protect their federal funding.