Washington lawmakers in the state congress once again showed their colors in the early stages of the legislative session for 2025, putting forward House Bill 1296, which flies in direct contradiction to the initiative of the people passed last year broadly called the “Parents’ Bill of Rights” (PPRA).
That initiative (I-2081) filed by Jim Walsh in April 2023, garnered over 440,000 before the end of the year and passed the required threshold to put it before the state congress in 2024.
In effect, the proponents of the initiative sought to put into law a list of exemptions that would allow parents to opt their children out of school-sponsored activities or curriculum that touched on any of the following areas:
It came on the heels of state laws enacted in 2023 (HB 2331) requiring all public school districts to allow books and curriculum that taught CRT, DEI, and content addressing the homosexual and transgender agendas. Signed by Jay Inslee, HB 2331 allows the state to defund any school district who does not meet those requirements. Thus, the parents’ bill of rights.
While Washington state parents could not forcibly remove these harmful agendas from their students’ education, they could remove their students from those subjects.
At the time of voting, the PPRA had gained so much support and groundswell that it passed with stunning bi-partisan support — 49-0 in the senate and 82-15 in the house.
Now, a year later, state democrats are countering with their own bill that seeks to enshrine “student’s rights” — aka minors — allowing them access to the above areas without having to disclose that information to their parents. It basically enacts a “don’t ask, don’t tell” kind of policy in Washington schools. Parents can still ask the schools if they are promoting any of the agendas or topics cited in the PPRA, but schools would no longer be forced by law to reveal that information to parents beforehand.
This is not limited only to curriculum, but includes medical records and other school records. Based on testimony from the most recent hearing on Thursday, January 30, it is clear what kinds of information progressive Democrats aim to withhold—specifically, issues related to students wanting to conceal matters of gender, gender identity, and sexuality from their parents.
“I came out to my friends and advisors at school, a year before I came out to my parents,” Albert Johnson, a student at Community School of Spokane told the hearing. “I wanted to take time to explore myself and my identity, an experience every trans person deserves to have.”
It is not hard to see the further reaching implications of this kind of law. Washington state school counselors have already been given free reign to push “gender-confused” students toward puberty blockers or even mutilation. Likewise, they can encourage students to procure abortions and keep that kind of information from the parents. This law would enshrine “student privacy” above the legal rights of parents at any age.
“Yes, the bill does remove rights that were established in the legislation and enacted through the legislature last year.” - A staff member in support of HB1296
The kicker to all of this is language in the bill that if it becomes law, it would be exempt from any challenges put forward by Washingtonians via state referendums.
Beyond these troubling aspects — schools acting as de-facto guardians for students, superseding the rights of parents to know what their children are doing, or what kinds of medications or treatments they are receiving — house republicans and concerned citizens have seen a troubling possibility.
Representative Travis Couture, who represents Washington’s 35th district, proposed an amendment to the bill that would require schools to immediately notify parents if their children were sexually assaulted by teachers or staff. Since the bill itself would nullify a school’s responsibility to preemptively notify parents about certain curricula or activities dealing in these areas, Couture’s argument was that such a law could unduly protect schools or staff from revealing a sexual assault.
Democrats in Washington don’t want parents informed if their child was the victim of s*xual abuse in school.
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) January 31, 2025
Let that sink in. https://t.co/kiRKG6dyaM
The measure of the amendment was bold, taking aim at what many would assume to be an unlikely possibility. It’s argumentation, though, shows just how flawed and nonsensical the bill — which is likely to pass with broad support — actually is.
Needless to say, the amendment was rejected by the committee, along with every other amendment put forward by state republicans.
As the battle between school officials and parents intensifies in Washington state, it should be clear to parents everywhere that the education system in Washington does not care about families. In their proposals that “champion student rights” they only leave Washington’s youngest generations open to deceptive agendas and real bodily, physical harm. They do so all the while maintaining a facade that claims parents have all the access they need.
Get your children out of public schools!
