State Rep Candidate Bailey Joins Diehl-Allen Event

Above, Franklin’s Charles ‘Chuck’ Bailey III, who is running for State Rep for Franklin and Medway, introduced Republican Lt. Governor Candidate Leah Cole Allen in Wrentham, Tuesday evening.

Tuesday evening, a fundraising event for the Republican executive team of Geoff Diehl and Leah Cole Allen brought out a contingent from Franklin, many of whom were parents who said they were interested in the ticket’s proposed Parental Bill of Rights.

Diehl was prepping for an upcoming debate with Democrat nominee, Maura Healey, so Cole-Allen carried the torch. Introduced by Franklin’s Charles Bailey III, who is running for State Rep., she did a lot of listening as well as outlining the sprint the duo is on to close a polling gap and connect with voters hard-pressed by economic issues and, she noted, unhappy with their loss of input into educational matters; a theme echoed by Franklin parents.

The answer, according to Cole Allen, is her ticket’s Parents’ Bill of Rights, which she said would include broad oversight of state educational, medical, public safety, and legal issues to better reflect the needs of parents and children.

Policies Diehl-Allen plan to focus on if elected include:

• Expanded school choice, whereby parents will be given more flexibility to send their children to charter, vocational, or private schools, or home schooling, if public schools are not an appropriate option, and to have state education dollars follow the child;
• Eliminating state COVID vaccine requirements for teachers and students attending public schools and higher education here in Massachusetts, and prohibiting schools from requiring proof of vaccination to participate in school-sponsored activities;
• Requiring parental informed consent for important education decisions, including controversial curriculum subjects and educational materials, human growth and development courses, usage of school library and media, health services, student surveys, guest speakers, and athletics, and for medical testing and treatment involving minors;
• Prioritizing school safety in public school buildings statewide;
• Ensuring parental access to education and medical records involving their minor children;
• Making adjustments to the state Open Meeting Law to require that school boards solicit appropriate public comment from parents during public meetings;
• Establish a new curriculum oversight office within the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to monitor school curriculum statewide for subjects that are not appropriate to be taught;
• Launching a comprehensive audit of child welfare agencies, including the Department of Children and Families, to guide meaningful reform of those agencies to ensure best practices and prevent children from “falling through the cracks”; and,
• Coordination with the Governor’s Council to ensure that judicial nominees to the Probate Court have proper relevant professional experience, and are appropriately vetted, to be able to deal with matters involving parents and children.