To the Editor,

As a parent of two children attending the Lehighton Area School District, I feel compelled to speak publicly about an issue that transcends politics and speaks to the very foundation of our constitutional republic: the unlawful erosion of local control in public education.

Our Pennsylvania General Assembly, through the Public School Code of 1949 and its delegation to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, has handed sweeping powers to unelected bureaucrats — powers that affect what our children learn, how they are tested, and what values they are compelled to affirm in the classroom. These mandates are implemented under broad regulatory schemes like 24 P.S. § 15-1511(e) and 22 Pa. Code Chapter 4, often without public input, legislative specificity, or local oversight.

This is not just an academic concern — it is a constitutional one. In Protz v. WCAB (Derry Area School District), the Pennsylvania Supreme Court made it clear that the legislature cannot hand off its policymaking duties to executive agencies without meaningful limits. Yet in our schools, that is exactly what has happened.

What’s more troubling is that many local school districts, including our own, simply comply with these state-imposed directives without question — even when they impose controversial curriculum mandates, infringe on parental rights, or sideline elected school board members. That is a failure of courage and civic duty.

Our school districts are not powerless. The U.S. Supreme Court in Board of Education v. Allen, and Pennsylvania courts in William Penn School District v. PDE and City of Philadelphia v. Commonwealth, have affirmed that local governments and school boards have standing — and in some cases, an obligation — to challenge unconstitutional mandates in court.

I call on the Lehighton Area School District to fulfill its constitutional duty — not just to educate, but to advocate. It must challenge unlawful delegations of authority and defend the rights of students, parents, and local governance. Compliance without resistance is not neutrality — it is surrender.

For the sake of our children and the integrity of public education, we must demand more from those entrusted to represent our community.

Sincerely,

Ryan Bowman

Father and Parent

Lehighton