Washington state advocates for queer, reproductive, and civil rights stand ready to fight school districts that violate the privacy or rights of students in Washington schools based on Initiative 2081, which sailed through the State Legislature this session with little resistance alongside two other initiatives from Let’s Go Washington, a conservative group funded by multi-millionaire Brian Heywood.
Essentially re-hashing this 2014 Louisiana law, I-2081, the so-called “Parents’ Bill of Rights,” allows parents to “examine” instruction materials, obtain student records, and opt their kids out of certain classroom activities.
More than two dozen organizations, including Planned Parenthood, Alliance Advocates, the Washington Education Association, QLaw Foundation, Lavender Rights Project, and the Greater Seattle Business Association signed onto a press release from Gender Justice League putting school boards on notice. They said they will be watching the way boards implement I-2081, which will take effect 90 days after the session ends and not impact students until next year.
Advocates say their issue lies not in what I-2081 says, but what it doesn’t say: The majority of the measure is totally redundant, restating federal and state law. In fact, at a Joint Early Learning & K-12 Education Committee hearing last week, Sen. Lisa Wellman said “probably 90 percent” of the initiative was already covered under state law and federal laws such as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and HIPPA.
Legislative analysis from staff supported that view. Staff presented a table comparing the initiative’s major points to existing law and reassured lawmakers that the initiative would not amend current state law.
Over the phone last week, LGBTQ Caucus member Sen. Jamie Pedersen explained that to amend a law the initiative would have to reference specific statutes and show the changes it would make. He said that lawmakers could amend the bill to correct ambiguous language next session or earlier in the fall if any school district misuses it. Any conflicts could be hashed out in court, he said.
Experts who spoke to The Stranger in January couldn’t say exactly how local jurisdictions will implement the “Parents’ Bill of Rights.” Their concern was that vague language in the initiative could introduce confusion and enable districts to adopt policies that violate state and federal protections for students. Even districts that don’t intend to break existing laws might do so accidentally if they followed the language of I-2081 alone. As we reported in January, the devil is in the (lack of) details.
For example, one provision could give parents greater access to their kid’s school counseling records, potentially revealing truths about identity and mental health struggles that students aren’t ready to share, chilling what they’d be able to safely talk about with mental health providers on campus. Parental notification requirements could potentially lead to schools outing students for using different pronouns at school, or disclosing participation in Gay-Straight Alliances.
The expanded right of parents to “examine” their student’s curriculum could lead to additional book challenges, a trend that has already taken hold in Washington, or it could chill curriculum for all students.
While parents in Washington can already exempt their kids from sexual education classes, I-2081 would expand that provision to any topic “associated with sexual activity,” which could potentially include LGBTQ education or implied sex in books.
Advocates also told The Stranger that they worried teachers and administrative staff could be overwhelmed with questions and paperwork resulting from an influx of requests from parents, taking time and money away from educating students. Handling opt-out forms could be a logistical nightmare on their own, advocates said.
Courtney Normand, Washington director for Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, said the confusing language of the measure could be exploited to keep students from learning about their reproductive care options or from accessing resources to discuss their gender identities. Several organizations who testified in support of the bill last week, such as the Family Policy Institute of Washington, came out against SB 5599, a policy meant to help transgender youth in the shelter system.
“We know young people have these rights already–the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, HIPPA–those things are not touched by 2081, but it doesn’t mean that somebody isn’t going to decide they can anyway, again, because it’s poorly written.”
Danni Askini, executive director of Gender Justice League, said concerned members of the community may think that passing the initiative instead of launching a ballot measure campaign against it meant Democrats were throwing queer people under the bus, but that hasn’t been her experience. The LGBTQ caucus has actively sought input from the start, she said. She strongly suspects the courts will get involved.
“The vagueness of this bill is such that it really should not be left to chance–to hope and pray that school districts don’t go afoul,” she said. “We’re going to consider and pursue whatever avenues we can, including possibly getting clarification from the courts, sooner rather than later.”
This is conservative politics virtue signaling. Very thin on substance.
The far right extremist white natiionalist GQP is not conservative, only reactionary and anti-American, depending on Fear and Hate to achieve their goals.
@3 – Completely unsurprising that you are wrong about this. Please read one book. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%B6hm_scandal
The TL;DR: “Hitler had Röhm and his friends murdered in 1934, citing both his homosexuality and alleged treachery. After the purge, the Nazi government systematically persecuted homosexual men.”
Keep up the good work!
@1 what a coincidence, it’s a shit bill and you have shitty opinions
@3 wrong. your mere existence is not default proof of being an advocate for anything. That’s like saying Tim Scott is an advocate for Black people.
parents should have to do book reports in front of the school board on the books they want banned, complete with citations and adherence to the rules of grammar
someone stop the insanity. please.
Who the hell do these parents think they are that they should have access to their child’s counseling records?
Don’t they realize that teachers and counselors like literally attended college and achieved at least a C in their core classes? Who better than that to be entrusted with important information about a child’s health and wellbeing?
This is the Brave New World of the 21st century. Parents are so 20th century.
@1 a good bill shouldn’t be mostly / completely a restatement of existing law – 2081 is redundant garbage, straight up virtue signaling (“Parents Bill of Rights” – what a crock).
Unfortunately the good people of this state will need to ensure nut jobs don’t try to stretch it beyond what’s stated (good news, I’m confident the legislature can address any attempted abuse).
Remember when we let priests counsel kids about their innermost thoughts and feelings with the understanding that anything shared in confidence would never be told to parents? Remember how creating that culture of “this will be our little secret” didn’t lead to any bad outcomes or abuse of authority ever?
Why would anybody have the slightest reservations about imbuing school counselors with the same authority?
@3 No, as a gay man you are automatically a member of the larger LGBTQ+ community, but one is only an LGBTQ+ advocate when one supports and advances the interests of the whole community. Someone who opposes discrimination against someone for being gay, while not opposing discrimination against the non-binary, is not an LGBTQ+ advocate. For example, a lesbian who rejects that trans women are women, or who looks down on bisexual women as only greedy, can never be an advocate for the community as a whole.
@10 Funny how you use the key word here, authority, and still don’t have a rational thought. Priests are, and always have been, powerful members of the community and were often seen as agents of God Almighty. We were raised to obey them fear their displeasure. That’s why they were able to rape kids with impunity for so long, and blame the victim when caught. No child or young adult who is looking for help with their sexuality when they know they can’t have that discussion with a parent should ever have to fear a teacher or counselor betraying them to said parent.
Children are citizens with rights of their own, and not the property of their parents.
THIS BILL LITERALLY JUST RESTATES EXISTING STATE LAW.
Go ahead and compare them with existing law. I’ll wait.
The whole point is that it’s a very simple sanity check. If you immediately get triggered by it, you literally don’t know what you’re talking out and are an easily manipulated idiot.
The current law reads like this:
https://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=28A.300.475
RCW 28A.300.475
Comprehensive sexual health education.
(7)(a) Any parent or legal guardian who wishes to have his or her child excused from any planned instruction in comprehensive sexual health education may do so upon filing a written request with the school district board of directors or its designee, or the principal of the school his or her child attends, or the principal’s designee. The person or entity to whom the request is directed must grant the written request to have the student excused from this instruction in accordance with this subsection. In addition, any parent or legal guardian may review the comprehensive sexual health education curriculum provided in his or her child’s school by filing a written request with the school district board of directors, the principal of the school his or her child attends, or the principal’s designee.
(Last updated 2020)
https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=26.09.225
RCW 26.09.225
Access to child’s education and health care records.
(1) Each parent shall have full and equal access to the education and health care records of the child absent a court order to the contrary. Neither parent may veto the access requested by the other parent. (2) Educational records are limited to academic, attendance, and disciplinary records of public and private schools in all grades kindergarten through twelve and any form of alternative school for all periods for which child support is paid or the child is the dependent in fact of the parent requesting access to the records. (3) Educational records of postsecondary educational institutions are limited to enrollment and academic records necessary to determine, establish, or continue support ordered pursuant to RCW 26.19.090.
@10 Urlo wins for the best comment on this article.
Just as the Catholic Church was given the authority to keep secrets from parents, the Washington State legislatives want public schools to have that same authority. It’s creepy.
And, why is everyone attacking Raindrop? Geez, the dude is entitled to his own opinion.
Senator Jaime Pedersen is a very smart and manipulative man. He’s willing to through what the LGBTQ+ Community wants under the bus, so that voters can’t vote on all 6 popular initiatives. If voters approved all 6 it would be a TOTAL failure and rejection of WA Dems policies.
If there are only 3 then it looks better for WA Dems.
Plus, recognize, Sen. Pedersen left all the $$$ Money $$$ initiatives in play, so WA dems are fight harder to keep Taxes high and Gas Taxes this highest in the nation.
@13 Given that some of the most obnoxious, misogynistic, racists I have known were white, male homosexuals with big Nazi fetishes, I can see why you would think of them as LGBTQ+ advocates. Is Milo Y. your idol?