Poll: Should Parents Have a Say in Curriculum?

Every school in town has parents that are passionate about the education of their child or children. Many parents are heavily involved in school, whether they are in PTO's, chaperoning field trips, or sitting down with their child each night to go over homework due the next morning.

But is there a limit to how involved parents should be?

Parents of public school children in New Hampshire were given a great deal of power Wednesday when state legislators voted to approve a bill that intends to allow parents to object to what is being taught in classrooms, according to a Huffington Post report.

According to the report, the new law stipulates that a school must make efforts to offer alternative lessons if a parent files an objection to something being taught in class, be it "the history of France or the history of the civil or women's rights movements."

There is the possibility that the law could have unexpected consequences in communities throughout the state as it also requires that a parent making an objection must take financial responsibility for the district or school finding an educational alternative to meet state educational requirements.

In short, the right to objection may be limited by the fiscal resources available to a parent or parents.

"If you can afford it, you go after it," New Hampshire State Representative J.R. Hoell (R), who sponsored the bill, told the Huffington Post.

Hoell added that the legislation is aimed at avoiding parents' removing their child from schools when they object to material being taught — a particular book for example.