The more transparency there is in our public schools, the more parents will engage with their kids’ education. If they can see what is going on, they will want to get involved. They will feel they have more of a stake. That only can be a good thing.

Parents by and large have their children’s best interests at heart. Parents also have the right and duty to know what their children are being taught.

Lawmakers at the State Capitol are scheduled to consider a bill in a legislative committee today to expand transparency for the curriculum used in their children’s classes. It could give parents a better understanding of what their children are learning – allowing parents to reinforce or, if they feel it’s warranted, challenge the curriculum. While many school districts, schools and teachers in Colorado do commendably provide parents a lot of information about their curriculum, the practice is far from uniform.

The proposal deserves to be adopted though it probably won’t get far in the legislative process. House Bill 1066 happens to have been introduced by a Republican, state Rep. Tim Geitner of Falcon, and of course both legislative chambers are controlled by the Democrats. They are more likely to heed the bill’s critics from the public education establishment, who will tell committee members HB 1066 is unnecessary. They’ll say schools already provide parents what they need to know. They’ll say the bill even could be – gasp – divisive and stir conflict if parents happen to object to subject matter being taught or a reading being assigned.

In other words, they’d rather have parents simply butt out.

Which is all the more why the bill’s defeat would be a shame. At the least, it would provide parents more of a guarantee they can have a peek at what their kids are learning. But it also could serve to remind schools they need to loop parents into the education equation. Not just into their PTOs’ fund-raisers and their school athletic programs’ booster clubs – as valuable as those are in engaging parents – but also into what actually goes on in class.

And the proposal is the epitome of open, accessible government. It would have school districts post and annually update descriptions of textbooks, reading materials, supplemental worksheets, website URLs, and and the like. School districts would have to make learning materials available to parents and the rest of the public upon request. Among other provisions, the bill also would require all school districts to develop and post a policy for handling controversial topics as well as a grievance process for parents to weigh in.

Yes, some parents would invoke the policy to lodge their concerns about hot-button topics that come up in curriculum and class. It might even spark debate – over critical race theory, abortion, LGBTQ issues, etc. – among parents and faculty.

But that would be OK. Yes, really. It’s called parental involvement. So long as such debates remain civil and respectful, with participants realizing that a difference of opinion doesn’t mean either side cares any less about the kids, it stands to improve public education.

Parents themselves seem to realize that. As education news service Chalkbeat Colorado noted in its preview of the bill this week, a poll commissioned by education-advocacy group Ready Colorado in January found 77% of likely voters supported schools posting teaching materials online. It only makes sense. Let’s keep parents in the loop.

Denver Gazette editorial board