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Opponents of a Republican-backed initiative to establish a “bill of law” for parents of K-12 students sued Washington state on Thursday to block the measure from taking effect.
The state Legislature approved the initiative earlier this year. It will come into effect on June 6. The lawsuit argues that students, parents and school districts will be harmed by the initiative and that it is drafted in a manner that violates the state constitution.
“The initiative was passed because of deception and confusion, and it will have life-changing negative consequences for queer and trans students if implemented,” said Adrien Leavitt, staff attorney for the ACLU of Washington, which filed the filing along with two other legal groups. lawsuit in King County Superior Court on behalf of 10 plaintiffs.
Initiative 2081 calls for a range of school materials, such as textbooks, curriculum and a child’s medical records, to be readily available for parental access. Parents will also be notified and can opt their child out of assignments and other activities that ask questions about a child’s sexual experiences or the family’s religious beliefs.
The initiative, authored by Rep. Jim Walsh, R-Aberdeen, and one of six initiatives backed by conservative hedge fund manager Brian Heywood, adopted unanimously through the Washington Senate and 82-15 through the House of Representatives, with only Democrats opposed.
Democrats who supported the initiative emphasized that the legislation did not change protections for marginalized groups The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction said much of what is outlined in the initiative is already state law.
But the ACLU of Washington, Legal Voice and QLaw, the three organizations leading the lawsuit, argue that the initiative has “misled state lawmakers and the public.”
“It violates the state constitution because it fails to disclose how it revises and affects existing laws,” the complaint said. “This creates confusion about the legal duties of schools, their staff and contractors, and school health care providers, as well as the rights of students.”
The lawsuit also alleges that the initiative would remove important privacy protections for medical and mental health records for LGBTQ+ students, youth of color, and students from other marginalized backgrounds.
“I think we knew this was probably coming,” Sen. Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle, said of the lawsuit. “We knew there were uncertainties. We were confident it wouldn’t do much harm.”
Some Democratic lawmakers were uncomfortable with advancing the measure, but by doing so, Pedersen said, the Legislature retained control of the process and could amend the statute next term to deal with vague language. If voters had approved it, lawmakers would have had to wait two years before they could change it.
In a statement to the Standard, Heywood said the ACLU “has made their contempt for the democratic process abundantly clear.”
“We expect [Washington Attorney General] Bob Ferguson must fulfill his duty under the law to protect the will of the people and stop this frivolous attempt by the ACLU to deprive parents of their civil liberties,” Heywood said.
When the initiative was passed, LGBTQ+ advocacy groups expressed their concerns about the potentially chilling effect this could have on LGBTQ+ youth. The initiative came amid the socially conservative “parental rights” movement, which aims to limit schools’ ability to teach about gender, sexuality and race without parental consent. acquired influence in the United States.
LGBTQ+ students and advocates across the country say the movement is less about parental rights and more about targeting and silencing LGBTQ+ youth.
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit include South Whidbey School District, equity-focused nonprofits and a parent of two students in Seattle Public Schools.
Standards reporter Jerry Cornfield contributed to this report.
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