Facing Challenges in 2026
As we wind down another year and look toward 2026, I am struck by all that we have accomplished in the last twelve months, and at the challenges we will face in the days just ahead.
On the one hand, parental rights have been at the forefront of our culture and political awareness over the last five years, and we have made great strides in protecting them during that time.
Just this past year, we saw the Supreme Court hand down a significant win for parents in Maryland (and around the country) in Mahmoud v. Taylor, a case we weighed in on with a formal amicus brief. We argued that parental rights are fundamental, and that schools should keep parents informed and listen to parents’ reasonable wishes when it comes to what their children are being taught.
The Supreme Court listened. They handed down an important decision that preserves a parent’s right to opt out of materials they find objectionable in their child’s public education classroom.
Along the way, the Court made one crucial point that overturned some earlier, dangerous precedents:
In at least two important cases from the early 2000s, courts had held that if parents didn’t like what is taught in the schools, they could enroll their children in private school or they could homeschool them. Once they put a child in public school, their rights over what the child learned were at an end.
In Mahmoud v. Taylor, the Court pointed out that this is simply not an option for a lot of our nation’s marginalized parents. And their rights should not end at the school door simply because they can’t afford to homeschool or send their child to private school. This may seem a minor point, but it is a huge win for parents everywhere, and especially for parents whose children go to public school.
We are proud to have been a part of that vital case!
We have also seen changes out of Washington about how parents are to be treated. Not long ago, parents concerned enough to speak up at school board meetings were being labeled “domestic terrorists.” Now, their rights are being lauded and promoted in policy briefs and executive orders. This is a season, and like every season it will pass. But it has been a boon for parents while it lasts.
And we are seeing changes in state laws, which are far less fleeting.
This year, Indiana passed a parental rights law to preserve the parental role as fundamental, accorded strict scrutiny judicial protection. That means parents in the Hoosier state are in the driver’s seat more than they have ever been before.
And parents in Georgia, Virginia, and Texas now have the freedom to let their children explore and experience a bit of independence, as our Reasonable Childhood Independence bill (featured and led by our partners at Let Grow) has been adopted in these and eight other states since 2018. These laws say plainly to state agencies that letting a child play unsupervised in his yard or letting her ride her bike to the park does not in itself constitute neglect or warrant any kind of investigation or intrusion.
This means a lot to Georgia mom Brittany Patterson, who, months before Georgia’s law was passed, was arrested in front of her house, with her children watching, because her almost 11-year-old son walked a mile to the store in their rural community. (I was honored to host Brittany and her lawyer on our EPPiC Broadcast podcast earlier this year.)
On the other hand, elections in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and especially in my home state of Virginia may foreshadow a much more challenging landscape in 2026. Already, lawmakers are seeking to carve up our homeschooling rights, as some frightfully controlling bills have been proposed in New Jersey, Virginia, and Illinois in the last twelve months.
With our allies at the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) and countless state-level organizations, we were able to hold off those efforts in 2025. But we expect them to return in the coming months, and it will take all of us working together to stop them.
The liberty of parents to direct the education of their children means we don’t answer to the state for what they must learn (beyond the core principles of literacy and numeracy—areas where homeschools and private schools far outperform their state-run counterparts). But that won’t stop lawmakers from trying to take control so that they—not you—can shape what your children think and believe.
We will stand up to them again and declare with a loud voice that your children are not theirs to take, that your rights must be respected and preserved for your children’s sake.
As I look to 2026, it is not all “doom and gloom.” There will be challenges, especially for homeschooling in these states. But there will be progress, too.
In the same state of Virginia that may host one of the biggest challenges to homeschoolers, we are already working with a bipartisan coalition to bring child welfare reform. Numerous lawmakers who don’t ordinarily stand with us are part of that coalition, ready to make changes to better protect Virginia families. And their party will have the majority to do it.
At the federal level, likewise, we are working with coalition partners from many states and both sides of the aisle to bring meaningful change to the laws that define “abuse” and “neglect,” that give state incentives either to separate or to preserve families.
And we are continuing our relationship with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a Conservative, Republican-based gathering of state lawmakers and private groups who coordinate legislative efforts in the states.
At the start of this month, I was at ALEC in Fort Worth to present a model to protect parents, children, and caretakers in “Hidden Foster Care” situations—instances where child welfare agencies encourage parents to choose voluntary placement agreements in lieu of formal foster care.
When voluntary, these arrangements can be very helpful. Overwhelmed parents can send their children to live for a time with an aunt and uncle, grandma, or even a neighbor, long enough for the family to get things sorted out.
But there is also the temptation for the agency to encourage these arrangements simply because they lack the evidence they would need to go before a judge for an order to remove a child. Parents can be coerced, robbed of any court oversight or civil rights protections.
Our bill is now ALEC-approved, and it was drafted by a bipartisan coalition who can help reach both sides of the aisle when the bill comes up in your state.
This is the strength of our coalition: we remove the red flags for either party before the model language is adopted by groups like ALEC or by lawmakers ready to present it in their state. The bills we champion have the approval of lawyers from the ABA and the ACLU on the left and from HSLDA and Texas Public Policy Foundation on the right.
There is a lot of work ahead of us in 2026. We have built the relationships, the reputation, and the tools to get that work done. But we need your support to see it through.
Can I count on you today to make your best investment of $25, $45, or even $100 to empower our efforts in the coming year?
Moms like Brittany Patterson shouldn’t need to worry about being arrested for letting their children walk to the store alone. And children shouldn’t disappear into the cracks of “hidden foster care” when an agency lacks evidence to take their parent to court. (If there’s no evidence of abuse, the children should remain at home where they belong!)
Together, we can preserve the right of parents to direct the upbringing, education, and care of their children in more situations, in more states, and ultimately in the text of the United States Constitution.
Will you stand with us today?
(And because the Parental Rights Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization focused on policy and education, your investment is tax deductible as allowed for by IRS guidelines.)
Thank you for standing with us to protect children by empowering parents all across the country.
P.S.—We’ve had many wins to celebrate these last five years, and there are mounting challenges right in front of us. Your tax-deductible gift today will empower us to meet
those challenges and turn those into victory celebrations for families, as well!