Education

Washington’s Midterm Ballot Initiative Puts Parental Rights In Education At Stake

Screen Capture/PBS NewsHour

Washington state residents are voting on a ballot initiative which, if passed, would restore some rights of parents to receive basic information about their children’s public school education.

The state’s November ballot includes Initiative 001 which would reinstate “laws guaranteeing parents’ rights, including reviewing their children’s instructional materials, accessing their school records, being notified when medical services are provided, and opting-out-of certain classes,” according to its text. Political action committee Let’s Go Washington is sponsoring the initiative, while it’s opposed by the political campaign No Hate in Washington State and the ACLU of Washington, who claim the initiative is “anti-LGBTQ+.”

“Our schools function best when parents, teachers and administrators have a relationship built on communication and trust. When parents feel information concerning their own children is being withheld from them, that trust begins to disappear,” former Government Affairs chair of Washington State Young Republicans Anthony Mixer said in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation.

“Washingtonians should vote no on this issue because it removes common sense protections for students, their families, and even for our schools,” an opponent of Initiative 001, Washington State Director for the Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates Courtney Normand, said in a statement to KOMO News. Normand did not immediately respond to DCNF’s request for comment.

The initiative would need a simple majority vote for it to become law.

Initiative 001 restores the parental right to review school curriculum and opt their child out of “surveys, assignments, questionnaires, role-playing activities, recordings of their child, or other student engagements” in conflict with the student’s “sexual experiences or attractions,” “family beliefs, morality, religion, or political affiliations,” or “mental health or psychological problems,” per its text. Additionally, it would allow parent to opt their children out of “topics associated with sexual activity.”

Furthermore, Initiative 001 mandates that schools notify parents when their child is offered medical services at school. It also dictates that schools must include pertinent medical information as a part of a child’s school record, according to its text. The initiative reduces the time limit schools have to fulfill parents’ requests for their child’s school record from 45 days to ten.

“I-001 forces schools, teachers, and school counselors to knowingly “out” LGBTQ+ students to abusive families, putting them at greater risk of harm,” No Hate In Washington State stated.

The initiative’s supporters disagreed with this characterization.

“I-001 does not require schools to notify parents simply because a student identifies as LGBTQ+. The initiative’s parental-notification provisions require notice for specified matters, such as changes to a student’s physical, emotional, or mental health or well-being, but they do not identify a student’s sexual orientation or gender identity as an independent notification trigger,” Let’s Go Washington clarified.

“A public school shall not be required to release any records or information regarding a student’s medical or health records or mental health counseling records to a parent during the pendency of an investigation of child abuse or neglect conducted by any law enforcement agency or the department of children, youth, and families where the parent is the target of the investigation, unless the parent has obtained a court order,” reads the text of the initiative.

Washington state residents continue to spar over the role parents should play in their child’s education.

“Parents should know what their children are being taught, should have reasonable access to their children’s records, and should generally know when significant medical or health-related decisions involving their minor children are taking place,” Mixer said. “Ultimately, I-001 is about restoring trust and recognizing something that should be common sense: parents should be partners in their children’s education, not bystanders.”