An Act to codify the rights of a parent.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of South Dakota:

Section 1. That a NEW SECTION be added to a NEW CHAPTER in title 26:

A state agency or any political subdivision of this state may not substantially burden the fundamental right of a parent to direct the upbringing, education, health care, and mental health of the parent's minor child, without demonstrating that the burden imposed on the parent is required by a compelling governmental interest as applied to the parent and the parent's minor child and is the least restrictive means for furthering that compelling governmental interest.

Section 2. That a NEW SECTION be added to a NEW CHAPTER in title 26:

The right of a parent with regard to the parent's minor child include the right to:

(1) Direct the upbringing of the parent's minor child;

(2) Direct the moral and religious training of the parent's minor child;

(3) Except as otherwise provided in section 5 of this Act, make and consent to all physical and mental health care decisions for the parent's minor child;

(4) Access and review all medical records of the parent's minor child;

(5) Direct the education of the parent's minor child;

(6) Access and review all written and electronic educational records relating to the parent's minor child, which are in the possession of a school, as provided in section 7 of this Act;

(7) Have the parent's minor child excused from school attendance for religious purposes;

(8) Participate in parent-teacher organizations and other school organizations sanctioned by the board of a school district;

(9) Be notified promptly if an employee of the state reasonably believes that abuse, neglect, or other criminal offense has been committed against the parent's minor child by someone other than the parent, unless doing so would interfere with a criminal or other investigation;

(10) Consent before a biometric scan of the parent's minor child is performed, shared, or stored;

(11) Consent before any record of the blood or deoxyribonucleic acid of the parent's minor child is created, stored, or shared, unless authorized pursuant to a court order; and

(12) Consent before any state agency or political subdivision of this state makes a video or audio recording of the minor child, unless the video or audio recording is made as part of:

(a) A court proceeding;

(b) A law enforcement investigation;

(c) An interview conducted as part of a criminal or other investigation;

(d) A surveillance or other security system;

(e) A photographic identification card; or

(f) A public event where the minor child has no reasonable expectation of privacy.

Nothing in this section may be construed to permit a parent to abuse or neglect the parent's minor child, as defined in § 26-8A-2, or to end the life of the parent's minor child.

Section 3. That a NEW SECTION be added to a NEW CHAPTER in title 26:

Except for a law enforcement officer in the conduct of a criminal investigation or as otherwise provided by law, an employee of this state or a political subdivision of the state may not:

(1) Encourage or coerce a minor child to withhold information from the minor child's parent; or

(2) Withhold from a minor child's parent information that is relevant to the physical, emotional, or mental health of the parent's minor child.

Section 4. That a NEW SECTION be added to a NEW CHAPTER in title 26:

Except as provided in section 5 of this Act, a person, private entity, state agency, political subdivision of this state, or employee of a state agency or political subdivision must obtain the consent of a minor child's parent before:

(1) Procuring, soliciting, arranging, providing a referral for, or performing:

(a) A surgical procedure upon the minor child;

(b) A medical examination of the minor child;

(c) A mental health evaluation, in a clinical or nonclinical setting, of the minor child; or

(d) Any mental health treatment for the minor child; or

(2) Prescribing or dispensing any prescription medication to the minor child.

A parent may provide a person, entity, state agency, political subdivision of this state, or employee of a state agency or political subdivision written, informed consent to perform an action requiring consent, pursuant to this section.

Section 5. That a NEW SECTION be added to a NEW CHAPTER in title 26:

Notwithstanding the requirements of section 4 of this Act, a licensed physician or other health professional, acting within the professional's scope of practice, may:

(1) Perform an examination of a minor child to determine whether, in the opinion of the treating physician or health professional, exercising competent medical judgement, the minor child requires emergency medical care and services; or

(2) Perform any of the actions listed in section 4 of this Act to a minor child without the consent of the minor child's parent if:

(a) The licensed physician or health professional is permitted to perform the action under § 20-9-4.2;

(b) The minor is accompanied by an individual who has documentation signed by the minor child's parent authorizing the individual to make decisions regarding the minor child's health care; or

(c) The licensed physician or health professional relies in good faith on the representation of an individual, that the individual has been granted authority by the minor child's parent to make decisions regarding the minor child's health.

Section 6. That a NEW SECTION be added to a NEW CHAPTER in title 26:

The board of a school district, shall, in consultation with parents, teachers, and administrators, adopt a policy to promote the involvement of parents of minor children enrolled in the school district. The policy must include:

(1) A plan for parent participation in the school to improve parent and teacher cooperation in areas of homework, attendance, and discipline; and

(2) The process by which a parent:

(a) Reviews the curriculum offered to the parent's minor child or is otherwise informed about the course of study provided to the parent's minor child;

(b) May learn about the nature and purpose of clubs or other extracurricular activities that have been approved by the school;

(c) Withdraws the parent's minor child from a school club or extracurricular activity;

(d) Is notified of, and consents to having the parent's minor child receive, any instruction in or presentation on human sexuality, human sexual behavior, an understanding of an individual's identity disconnected from or inconsistent with the biological reality of an individual's sex, or the idea that an individual is able to identify with a gender that corresponds to an individual's internal and subjective sense of self, disconnected from the biological reality of the minor's sex;

(e) May object to any specific instruction or presentation provided to the parent's minor child;

(f) May withdraw the parent's minor child from any specific instruction or presentation if the parent considers the instruction or presentation harmful to the parent's minor child; and

(g) Provides consent before the parent's minor child may use a name or nickname other than the minor child's legal name or a derivative or diminutive of the minor child's legal name.

Section 7. That a NEW SECTION be added to a NEW CHAPTER in title 26:

Except as provided in § 26-8A-13, a school district shall allow the parent of a minor child enrolled in the school district to access all written and electronic records concerning the parent's minor child that are in the possession of the school district, a district employee, or other person hired, contracted, or authorized by the school district to provide services to the parent's minor child.

Section 8. That a NEW SECTION be added to a NEW CHAPTER in title 26:

Except as provided in § 26-8A-13, an employee of a school district may not withhold or conceal information from or facilitate, encourage, or coerce a minor child to withhold or conceal information from, the minor child's parent about the minor child's:

(1) Curricular or extracurricular projects, assignments, or activities;

(2) Physical, emotional, or mental health; or

(3) Purported identification with a gender that corresponds to the minor child's internal and subjective sense of self, disconnected from the biological reality of the minor child's sex.

Section 9. That a NEW SECTION be added to a NEW CHAPTER in title 26:

A parent may submit a written complaint to the board of a school district, detailing any violation of sections 6 to 8, inclusive, of this Act. The parent is entitled to a meeting with the superintendent of the school district to discuss the complaint. The superintendent shall investigate the complaint and respond to the parent in writing within fourteen days of receiving the complaint. The response provided by the superintendent must describe the actions that the district is to take in order to remedy the parent's complaint.

A parent may appeal the actions of the superintendent to the board of the school district by submitting a written complaint detailing the violation of sections 6 to 8, inclusive of this Act and a description of how the actions taken by the superintendent failed to resolve the complaint. The board shall investigate the complaint and shall meet with the parent to discuss the complaint. The board shall adopt a plan of action to remedy the complaint at the first meeting of the board following receipt of the complaint.

If the board's plan of action does not remedy the parent's complaint, the parent may file suit and assert a violation of sections 6 to 8, inclusive, of this Act as a claim against the school district. A parent who successfully asserts a claim or defense under this section may recover declaratory relief, injunctive relief, liquidated damages of five thousand dollars per violation, reasonable attorneys' fees and costs, and any other appropriate relief.

Section 10. That a NEW SECTION be added to a NEW CHAPTER in title 26:

For the purposes of sections 6 to 9, inclusive, of this Act, "school district" does not include any public institution of higher education, provided that the parent of a minor child retains the parent's rights under this Act and any other applicable federal law, as applied to a school district, if the parent's child is enrolled in a dual enrollment course offered by the school district and a public institution of higher education.

Section 11. That a NEW SECTION be added to a NEW CHAPTER in title 26:

A parent may bring suit for a violation of this chapter and may raise this chapter as a defense in any judicial or administrative proceeding, without regard to whether the proceeding is brought by or in the name of the state, a private person, or other party.

A parent who successfully asserts a claim or defense under this chapter may recover declaratory relief, injunctive relief, compensatory damages, reasonable attorneys' fees and costs, and any other appropriate relief.

A state agency or political subdivision of this state shall indemnify the employees of the state or political subdivision for any liability incurred by the employee and for any judgement entered against the employee for claims arising under this chapter. A state agency or political subdivision of this state is not required to indemnify an employee if the employee was convicted of a criminal violation for the conduct from which the claim arises.