Societies once almost universally respected the rights of parents to raise and educate their children, but that era is ending. Governments are increasingly mandating how parents should raise their children, a troubling precedent. In order to combat this trend, this Article proposes that the United States should pass a constitutional amendment protecting the rights of parents. Ireland pro-vides a model for such an amendment in Articles 41, 42, and 42A of the Irish Constitution.

This Article examines the U.S. and Irish Constitutions and judiciaries in order to show why the U.S. should adopt such an amendment. The U.S. and Ireland have similar constitutional histories and judicial approaches, making Ireland uniquely qualified to serve as a constitutional example to the U.S. In recent years, the U.S. has witnessed a number of recent battles that depict the need for an amendment such as this. That said, this Article does not suggest that the route to a constitutional amendment is easy. Instead, it recognizes the difficulty of passing such an amendment and explains why the attempt is nevertheless important.

Keep Reading: The Family vs. the State: Protecting the Rights of Parents to Raise and Educate Their Children