Initiative Measure IL26-001: Parental Rights in Public School

The law today

Attorney General's explanatory statement, 'The Law as It Presently Exists': in 2024 the Legislature passed Initiative to the Legislature 2081 listing certain rights of parents and guardians of public-school children, and in 2025 it made several changes to that list. The current list is in RCW 28A.605.005 and includes, among others, a right to education records within a reasonable period not to exceed 45 days and a right to immediate notification when a criminal action is alleged to have been committed against their child on school property during the school day.[1]

Official fiscal estimate

Office of Financial Management fiscal impact statement: the initiative would have no fiscal impact on state government and would not affect state or local revenue; local school districts could incur minor costs to update policies and procedures, but this impact is indeterminate.[1]

Arguments made for

• Argument for (written by teachers, a superintendent and parent advocates): “These rights include access to their child’s instructional materials and student records, notice of medical services, opt-outs from certain activities and instruction, and immediate notification when law enforcement questions their child or their child is removed from campus without parental permission.”[1]
• Argument for: “School staff remain mandatory reporters of suspected child abuse or neglect. Privacy for vulnerable children remains paramount. But safeguards designed for children at risk should not become a default policy of withholding information from all parents.”[1]
• Rebuttal of the argument against (same authors): IL26-001 “expressly states that schools ‘shall not be required to release’ mental health counseling records when a parent is the target of a child abuse or neglect investigation; requires ‘immediate notification’ if a criminal action is deemed committed against or by their child; and contains zero mandates placing students in danger.”[1]

Arguments made against

• Argument against (written by State Sen. John Lovick, the Washington Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, the Washington State Nurses Association, the League of Women Voters of Washington and others): “This poorly written measure further endangers vulnerable child abuse victims by requiring schools to hand over sensitive information to parents under criminal investigation for raping, abusing or otherwise harming their own child.”[1]
• Argument against: “An unintended consequence of IL26-001 is ending Washington’s legal requirement that schools immediately notify parents when the crime is reported.”[1]
• Argument against: the measure “forces schools to knowingly put LGBTQ+ kids in increased danger of violence and homelessness by outing them to potentially abusive families.”[1]

On record in support

• Let's Go Washington (political committee led by Brian Heywood), which gathered the signatures and is registered in favor with the Public Disclosure Commission.[4][3]
• Authors of the voters' pamphlet statement for: Travis Reep, Alesha Perkins, Peter Rosenkranz (superintendent, La Center School District), Tony Harris, Amy Sousa and Jess Grant (Democrats for an Informed Approach to Gender).[1]
• 47th District Republicans (registered in favor with the Public Disclosure Commission).[3]

On record in opposition

• No Hate in WA State (political committee registered against; contact listed on the pamphlet statement against).[1][3]
• Authors of the voters' pamphlet statement against: State Sen. John Lovick (D), Washington Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, Washington State Nurses Association, League of Women Voters of Washington, Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, and a school counselor from Fife.[1]
• WA Families for Freedom, which the Washington State Standard describes as opposed to the initiatives and supported by SEIU 775, the ACLU of Washington and the Washington Education Association.[4]