COEUR d'ALENE — Terri Seymour urged members of the Coeur d'Alene School District Board of Trustees Monday night to vote against a statewide resolution on parental rights in education.

Seymour, a former district trustee, spoke to the board during the public comment portion of the meeting about a resolution created by the Idaho School Board Association. She said the resolution aims to block any further expansion of a bill passed during last year's legislative session that clarifies the rights of parents in the public education system.

"We are the parents, and the education of our children is our responsibility," Seymour said. "To think that our tax dollars will not be used in the classroom, but toward lobbying a campaign to block parents from having a say in their children's education, is sad."

The ISBA is a nonprofit organization that provides policy services, legislative advocacy and board training to more than 500 locally elected school board members. Each year, the organization accepts members' resolutions that are analyzed, and sometimes edited, before voting on whether the ISBA should work with legislators on turning the resolutions into law.

This year, the group put forward a "Parental Rights" resolution originally submitted by the Pocatello/Chubbuck School District. According to the resolution, school districts across the state "may experience challenges from parents who claim that their rights may be violated by school districts, as school districts comply with various state and federal mandates."

If passed by ISBA members, the resolution states the association would maintain a log of incidents school districts are addressing with parents who take exception to various school district policies and procedures. It adds that, if the resolution is passed, the ISBA will work with the education community to communicate to legislators the impacts that parental exceptions have on district personnel and district budgets.

Finally, the resolution would "hold at bay any expansion of the parental rights" in relation to the bill passed last session.

"This is a board issue and the government of the people in this district ought to be the ones who take a stand in defense of parents, in support of locally driven education and in support of the rights of parents to make decisions regarding their children's education," she said. "This resolution would favor the federal government, rather than kids and families."

Seymour concluded her public comment by once again asking the board to vote no on the resolution and to make parents in the district aware of how each board member voted.

The parental rights resolution, as well as 11 others, will be voted on by members of the ISBA during the organization's annual convention, which takes place this month in Coeur d'Alene.