"Parental Rights" Threaten to Take Public Education Backwards

This article was first published in the Edmonton Journal on October 1, 2025.

Under the Education Amendment Act, schools are now required to notify parents if a student asks to be called by a different name or pronoun at school — the so-called “pronoun policy.” Less widely reported is another provision in this same act: Parents must now opt in — not out — to any lessons touching on sex education, gender identity, or sexual orientation. And this consent must be given each time this content is taught.

Another piece of legislation, the Fairness and Safety in Sport Act, introduced a ban on transgender athletes participating on girls’ sports teams. In addition, parents of female athletes aged 12 and older must sign a form affirming that their daughter’s sex assigned at birth was female.

Then there is the comedy of errors around the ministerial order banning school library books. After an initial draft of the order led the Edmonton Public School Board to compile a list of over 200 books for removal, the order was revised to apply only to materials with visually explicit content. But the long-term impact of this new order on school libraries and classroom collections remains unclear.

Many of these changes appear to be the result of sustained lobbying by politically connected “parental rights” groups, including Parents for Choice in Education, the Alberta Parents’ Union, and Take Back Alberta. As I detail in my report “Challenging ‘Parental Rights’: A Primer for Parents, Students, Educators and Advocates,” commissioned by the Parkland Institute, these groups all have close ties to the UCP, and their influence is visible throughout these new policies.

The policy approach to sex education, for instance, mirrors Parents for Choice in Education’s long-standing demand to shift from an opt-out model to a mandatory opt-in. According to reporting by the Investigative Journalism Foundation, Parents for Choice, along with the convoy-affiliated group Action4Canada, also claimed credit for raising concerns with the education minister about alleged explicit content in school libraries.

These groups claim to speak for parents, but they push a vision of parents’ rights that infringes on the rights and well-being of students. They do not represent families who support their LGBTQ+ children and are concerned for their safety and mental health under the new rules. They also do little to reflect the more pressing concerns of most parents: crowded classrooms and underfunded support services.

The issues championed by Alberta “parental rights” groups are not homegrown. They are copied directly from the culture wars roiling public education in the United States. Similar organizations in the U.S. have tried to take over school boards in recent years by running slates of ideologically aligned candidates. Their Alberta counterparts now appear to be following suit. Parents for Choice in Education, the Alberta Parents’ Union, and Take Back Alberta have all encouraged supporters to run for trustee positions in the upcoming municipal elections. Some have gone as far as offering candidate-training sessions.

Many of these groups have been openly critical of public education and advocate for expanded privatization in the guise of “school choice.” If successful at the ballot box, their trustee candidates could pursue an agenda focused more on privatization and culture-war issues than on managing the challenges of a modern public school system.

That’s a troubling prospect at a time when Alberta’s urban districts are seeing rapid growth, even as rural boards deal with stagnant or declining enrolment.

That’s why the trustee elections this October matter — even for those who don’t have children in K-12 education. Public education affects everyone in the end, and many political careers begin at the school board level.

Voters should take the time to ask candidates where they stand. Have they received endorsements, funding, or training from third-party groups? What is their stance on inclusion? What is their vision for public education?

The public interest is best served by school trustees who are committed to public education and to upholding the rights of all students. This October, what’s at stake is the future of public education itself — and who gets to shape it.

Heather Ganshorn

Heather Ganshorn is the research director at Support Our Students Alberta, a grassroots organization that advocates for inclusive and equitable public education for all Albertans. She is also a librarian at the University of Calgary and the parent of two children who attend public schools.

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