Parents should have an important role in education, but bullying schools isn’t it

Mr. Youngkin has seized on the misstep, putting Virginia front and center in the nation’s increasingly heated debate over what should be taught in schools and who gets to decide. Battles over instruction and curriculum in public schools are not new, and there are legitimate concerns today about whether some school districts are distorting American history in an overreaction to the mistakes of the past. But there also are legitimate concerns about some Republicans stoking a “parental rights” movement for political gain, furthering cultural divisions. By their telling, a cabal of school administrators and teachers have sidelined parents from critical decisions including mask wearing, sex education and the teaching of U.S. history.