National parents' rights director cites custody cases and urges yes on notification initiative

Suzanne Gallagher, who identified herself as Director of Parents' Rights in Education, told the audience she has heard recurring stories from parents across multiple states and pointed to recent cases in Oregon and Indiana where parents faced custody or school-access disputes after disagreements about affirming a child's gender identity. She said organizers are advocating a three-part approach: immediate notification to parents if something happens with a child at school, access to a child's medical and educational records, and the right for parents to be consulted rather than overridden.

Gallagher said those protections were previously part of a bipartisan "parents' bill of rights" that voters supported, and she alleged the legislature later rewrote or weakened the law without returning the issue to voters. She urged volunteers to tell stories about named parents (for example, Nicole Calloway and the Cox family) and to mobilize for the ballot initiative organizers say restores parental authority.