Georgia lawmakers pass parents’ bill of rights advocated by Kemp

That is curriculum defined by the Georgia Board of Education or approved by a local school board. Such materials are already subject to public review under state law.

Non-approved content, such as news articles, websites and other reference material teachers give students, isn’t covered by the bill.

“This is essentially the curriculum that’s being taught,” Bonner explained at a committee hearing in February. “It does not go into what we would refer to as supplemental materials.”

He gave an example of what wouldn’t be covered: a video clip of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He didn’t want to make teachers spend time documenting their use of such non-approved material.

“It is not meant to put any additional burden on our teachers,” Bonner said.

Groups that have come to the Capitol to lobby for parent rights were disappointed by that.

Melissa Jackson, state president of the group No Left Turn in Education, said supplemental materials are “the crux of our problem.” She said in an interview that most recent parental complaints she’s heard were about “rogue teachers bringing in supplemental resources.”