Defending Education, a U.S. education advocacy organization formerly known as Parents Defending Education, has published a Back to School Checklist 2026 for families preparing for the 2026–27 school year. The checklist encourages parents to review school and district policies, understand opt-out procedures, examine curriculum and student records, and ask questions about technology, health services and discipline.
The checklist is an advocacy resource rather than a government-issued list of legal requirements. Some of the rights it highlights, including protections under PPRA and FERPA, are established in federal law, while other recommendations reflect Defending Education’s policy priorities.
Introduction
As the 2026–27 U.S. school year gets underway, parents are being encouraged to look beyond school supplies, transportation and schedules and pay closer attention to what happens inside their children’s schools.
Defending Education, a national education advocacy organization that previously operated as Parents Defending Education, has published a Back to School Checklist 2026 aimed at helping parents become more familiar with school policies and their rights. The organization says its broader mission is to promote free speech and the free exchange of ideas in education while opposing political ideology and activism in schools.
The checklist covers nine broad areas, including district leadership, school opt-out policies, the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA), Title IX policies, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), technology and artificial intelligence, school-based health services and student discipline.
Importantly, the document combines legal rights and practical questions for parents with the organization’s own advocacy recommendations. Parents therefore need to distinguish between what federal law actually guarantees and what Defending Education is encouraging families to ask their schools about.
What Happened?
Defending Education released its Back to School Checklist 2026 as the new academic year began across the United States.
The organization says the 2026–27 school year is a good time for parents to become familiar with their school district’s leadership and policies before problems arise. Its first recommendation is for parents to identify their school board members and establish communication with district leadership. It also encourages parents to become familiar with their local PTA.
The checklist then moves into questions about school policies and parental access to information.
One of its recommendations is for parents to review their district’s opt-out policies, which may be included in student handbooks. It specifically encourages parents to understand what kinds of school-administered surveys their children may receive and whether parents can review those surveys in advance.
That recommendation has a basis in federal law. The U.S. Department of Education says PPRA gives parents certain rights concerning student surveys and instructional materials, including the right to inspect certain surveys before they are administered and to inspect instructional material used as part of the curriculum.
Key Details of the Back to School Checklist
The Back to School Checklist 2026 contains nine major areas for parents to consider.
1. Know Your School and District Leadership
Defending Education recommends that parents identify their school board members and establish relationships with district officials.
The idea is straightforward: parents should know who is responsible for making decisions before they need to raise a concern.
The checklist also recommends becoming familiar with the local PTA and participating in school-community activities.
2. Review School Opt-Out Policies
Parents are encouraged to find out whether their district allows students to opt out of particular activities, surveys or instructional content and what procedures must be followed.
Defending Education notes that some opt-out forms may need to be submitted at the beginning of each school year.
However, opt-out rights are not universal. Whether a parent can remove a child from a particular lesson or activity can depend on federal law, state law, district policy and the specific circumstances involved.
That distinction is particularly important when parents are considering whether a checklist item represents an actual legal entitlement or an advocacy recommendation.
3. Understand the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment
PPRA is one of the most important federal laws referenced in the checklist.
The U.S. Department of Education says PPRA provides parents with certain rights concerning:
- Student surveys
- Certain protected categories of personal information
- Inspection of instructional materials
- Certain physical examinations
- Collection and use of personal information for marketing purposes
The federal government identifies eight protected areas covered by PPRA rules for certain surveys, including political or religious beliefs, mental or psychological problems, sexual behavior or attitudes and certain family-related information.
The Department of Education also states that local education agencies must develop policies addressing parents’ rights to inspect certain surveys and instructional materials.
For parents, this means understanding the actual PPRA rules can be more useful than simply knowing the acronym.
4. Examine Curriculum and Instructional Materials
The checklist asks parents to find out what their children are being taught and what procedures exist for reviewing curriculum.
This is another area where federal law provides a concrete right.
The Department of Education says PPRA includes a parent’s right to inspect instructional material used as part of the student’s educational curriculum, subject to the law’s requirements.
That does not mean every parent automatically has a legal right to remove a child from every lesson they disagree with. Rather, the specific legal right depends on the applicable law and circumstances.
This distinction matters because the Back to School Checklist is an advocacy document, while federal statutes and regulations determine enforceable legal rights.
The Mahmoud v. Taylor Connection
One of the most significant legal developments referenced by Defending Education is the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2025 decision in Mahmoud v. Taylor.
In June 2025, the Supreme Court considered a dispute involving Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland. Parents from different religious backgrounds challenged the school board’s policy concerning LGBTQ+-inclusive storybooks and the removal of notice and opt-out opportunities for parents who objected on religious grounds.
The Supreme Court ruled that the parents had made the showing required for preliminary relief, concluding that the combination of the challenged curriculum and the no-opt-out policy substantially burdened their religious exercise. The Court ordered that the parents receive advance notice and be allowed to have their children excused from the relevant instruction while the litigation continued.
Defending Education now highlights the ruling in its resources for parents and describes it as an important development concerning parental rights.
However, the ruling should not be interpreted as a blanket right for parents to veto any school curriculum they disagree with.
The Supreme Court’s decision was tied to the particular constitutional and factual circumstances of the case, including the religious beliefs asserted, the age of the children, the nature of the instructional materials and the school district’s opt-out policy. The Court itself emphasized that the analysis is fact-intensive.
5. Know Your FERPA Rights
The checklist also directs parents to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, commonly known as FERPA.
FERPA gives parents certain rights concerning their children’s education records. The U.S. Department of Education says parents generally have the right to inspect and review education records maintained by schools covered by FERPA. Schools generally must comply with a request within a reasonable period and no later than 45 days.
Schools must also annually notify parents and eligible students about FERPA rights, including the right to inspect and review education records and request amendments to records believed to be inaccurate.
For parents preparing for a new school year, reviewing a child’s education records can help them understand information the school maintains about academic performance and other aspects of the student’s educational history.
There are exceptions and limitations, however. FERPA does not mean parents automatically have access to every piece of information held by a school or every type of school record.
6. Ask About Technology and Artificial Intelligence
Another increasingly relevant part of the Back to School Checklist concerns technology.
Defending Education encourages parents to ask schools about:
- Cellphone policies
- Artificial intelligence policies
- How technology is used in classrooms
- School rules governing student technology Defending Education
This reflects a rapidly changing education environment in which schools are developing policies around generative AI, student devices, digital learning platforms and data privacy.
The checklist does not establish a national AI policy for schools. Instead, it encourages parents to ask their individual school or district what rules apply.
For families, questions about AI can include whether students are permitted to use AI for assignments, what tools the school provides, how student information is handled and whether teachers have specific rules about AI-generated work.
7. Ask Questions About School-Based Health Services
The checklist also asks parents to investigate school-based health centers and understand the rules surrounding parental notification.
It raises questions about social and emotional instruction, the qualifications of staff providing such services and the availability of counseling or other services.
These issues can vary considerably between states and school districts.
Parents should therefore check their district’s policies and applicable state laws rather than assuming that the same rules apply nationwide.
8. Review Title IX and Other School Policies
Defending Education’s checklist also tells parents to examine how their district handles Title IX and related school policies.
The organization specifically raises questions concerning bathrooms, athletics and how federal and state requirements are implemented locally.
Title IX is a federal civil-rights law, but the rules governing its application in schools can change through legislation, regulations, court decisions and agency interpretations.
As a result, parents seeking information about a specific school should consult the current policies of their district and the applicable federal and state authorities.
9. Review the Student Code of Conduct
The final section of the checklist asks parents to review their district’s code of conduct or student rights and responsibilities document.
Defending Education specifically encourages parents to understand whether restorative justice is used by the district and how such policies operate.
Knowing the disciplinary process before a problem occurs can help parents understand how schools respond to different types of student behavior.
Background: Who Is Defending Education?
Defending Education is the current name of the organization previously known as Parents Defending Education.
The organization launched in 2021 and announced in April 2025 that it was expanding its work from K–12 education into higher education while changing its name to Defending Education. It describes itself as a national grassroots organization focused on free speech, viewpoint diversity and what it considers political neutrality in education.
Its website includes resources on parental rights, FERPA, school board engagement, public-records requests, curriculum and the Supreme Court’s Mahmoud v. Taylor decision.
Because the organization has a specific advocacy mission, its checklist should be understood in that context. It is not an official U.S. Department of Education checklist and does not itself create new legal rights.
What Officials and Organizations Said
Defending Education presents the checklist as a resource designed to help parents understand school policies and become more engaged with their children’s education. Its broader materials encourage families to learn the facts, understand their rights and decide for themselves how they want to participate.
Federal education authorities provide an important legal reference point.
The U.S. Department of Education’s Student Privacy Policy Office confirms that PPRA establishes certain parental rights concerning surveys, instructional materials and student privacy.
The Department also confirms that FERPA gives parents rights to inspect and review education records, subject to the law’s rules and exceptions.
Separately, the Supreme Court’s Mahmoud v. Taylor ruling provides a recent constitutional development involving parental religious rights and public-school instruction.
These sources are important because they allow readers to distinguish between an advocacy organization’s recommendations and rights that actually exist under federal law or judicial decisions.
Why This Matters
The renewed focus on parental involvement comes as schools face questions about curriculum transparency, student privacy, technology, artificial intelligence, discipline and the role of parents in educational decisions.
For families, the most practical lesson from the Back to School Checklist is that parents do not have to wait for a dispute before learning how their school operates.
Parents can start with basic questions:
- Who makes decisions for the district?
- Where can I find the student handbook?
- What are the school’s opt-out procedures?
- How can I review my child’s education records?
- What are the district’s rules for student surveys?
- What technology and AI policies apply to students?
- How does the school communicate with parents?
- What are the school’s discipline procedures?
- Which rights come from federal law, and which depend on state or district policy?
This approach can make conversations between families and schools more informed and specific.
It is also important to avoid treating every item on an advocacy checklist as a universal legal requirement. Education law in the United States is divided among federal, state and local authorities, and individual cases can depend heavily on the facts.
What Happens Next?
There is no indication that Defending Education’s checklist itself creates a new federal requirement for schools.
Instead, the resource is available for parents who want to review policies and engage with their school districts during the 2026–27 school year. Defending Education
The legal environment surrounding parental rights is continuing to develop. The Department of Education has recently continued enforcement activity involving PPRA and parental access to information, demonstrating that federal parental-rights and student-privacy issues remain active areas of education policy. U.S. Department of Education
For parents, the next step is therefore largely local: review the school handbook, identify applicable state and district rules, understand federal protections such as PPRA and FERPA, and communicate directly with school officials when questions arise.
FAQs
What is the Back to School Checklist 2026?
The Back to School Checklist 2026 is a resource published by Defending Education to help parents review school policies and understand issues involving parental rights, curriculum, student records, technology, school health services and discipline.
Who published the Back to School Checklist?
The checklist was published by Defending Education, formerly known as Parents Defending Education. The organization changed its name in 2025 as it expanded its work to include higher education.
Is the Back to School Checklist an official government document?
No. It is an advocacy organization’s resource. Some of the laws and rights discussed in the checklist, including PPRA and FERPA protections, are established by federal law, but the checklist itself is not a federal government regulation or requirement.
What is PPRA?
The Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment, or PPRA, is a federal law that provides certain rights to parents regarding student surveys, instructional materials, certain examinations and the collection and use of personal information.
What does FERPA allow parents to do?
FERPA generally gives parents the right to inspect and review their children’s education records maintained by covered educational institutions. Schools generally must respond to a request within 45 days. There are exceptions and limitations under the law. Student Privacy
What did the Supreme Court decide in Mahmoud v. Taylor?
In Mahmoud v. Taylor, decided June 27, 2025, the Supreme Court held that the parents challenging Montgomery County Public Schools’ policy had shown a likelihood of success on their claim that the combination of certain instructional materials and the district’s no-opt-out policy substantially burdened their religious exercise. The Court ordered preliminary relief requiring notice and an opportunity for the children to be excused from the challenged instruction while the litigation proceeded.
Does Mahmoud v. Taylor mean parents can opt their children out of any school lesson?
No. The decision was based on the specific facts and constitutional claims in that case. The Supreme Court emphasized that whether a particular educational requirement substantially interferes with religious development is a fact-intensive question. Supreme Court
Why should parents review their school’s policies?
Reviewing school policies can help parents understand procedures before an issue arises. Important documents can include the student handbook, code of conduct, curriculum information, privacy policies, technology rules and opt-out procedures. The exact rights and procedures vary depending on federal law, state law and the school district.
