During a hearing on establishing a “parental bill of rights” in Washington, which would guarantee guardians access to school records, some lawmakers and staff said the proposal mirrors existing policy.
“State and federal law already grants parents and guardians many rights in furtherance of creating this partnership between our schools and parents,” Sen. Lisa Wellman, D-Mercer Island, said during the hearing. “However, it’s become clear that it’s confusing to understand the full scope of parental rights.”
The hearing was the second of three the lawmakers held this week as they consider potentially adopting three of the six initiatives currently before the Legislature. During the hearing, staff testified that many of the parental protections the initiative seeks to codify are already awarded to parents.
According to Wellman, while a complete list of parental rights may not be easily accessible in one location, “probably over 90%” of what’s in the initiative is already enshrined in either state or federal law.
“I think this initiative can be just one more tool to help parents better understand their existing rights,” Wellman said. “And if the language of this initiative creates any new confusion related to these rights, we stand ready to work to clear up any ambiguities.”
According to staff, the initiative would not amend several recent bills passed in Olympia, which include expanded access to mental health care, health care-related services, youth care homes, youth shelters while restricting guardian access to some health care-related documents.
If challenges were to occur during implementation, Schultz said the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) may need to “seek additional clarification from the Legislature in the future.”
Likewise, Angela Steck, president of the Washington State Parent Teacher Association, said she hopes lawmakers could address concerns “as any conflicts are identified in the future.”
“Much of what is included in this initiative is already required by state and federal law,” Matt Schultz, of OSPI, said. “However, some of the language is unclear, which could lead to confusion or implementation challenges at the local level.”
Rep. Jim Walsh, R-Aberdeen, who filed the measure, said, “The point of this initiative is to engage parents, grandparents and legal guardians in the upbringing of their children.”
According to Walsh, the initiative seeks to clear up confusion among parents on “the rights that they have.”
“What this initiative seeks to do is clarify those rights and let parents know in plain, straightforward terms what they can expect, what can they do, what they can know in raising their children,” Walsh said. “It’s the ‘knowing’ that’s the most important part of this in my opinion.”
Walsh said the initiative was drafted “carefully” to not conflict with current law, and he encouraged lawmakers to move the measure to the floor “where we can put it into law very quickly.”
Brian Heywood, a Republican donor who spent more than $6 million to gather signatures for the initiatives, was present at the hearing but did not testify.
While much of the initiative is already law in Washington, supporters said I-2081 would help clear up any confusion while also establishing a larger role for parents in their child’s education.
During her testimony, Jennifer Heine-Withee, of the Family Policy Institute of Washington, said the 400,000 signatures the initiative gathered and the fact that 89% of those testifying Wednesday did so in favor were signs of broad support.
“It’s evident that the people have spoken,” Heine-Withee said. “This is not politics. It’s not a partisan issue. It’s about parental rights.”
Heine-Withee said she frequently talks to parents who feel their parental rights have been violated.
“It is evident that we need this law to reinforce the rights of parents,” Heine-Withee said. “Time and time again, in federal and state law, it has been emphasized that parental rights are paramount in our country. And so I’m asking you, listen to the people, and please pass this law.”
The three initiatives heard this week are scheduled for executive sessions in their respective committees in both chambers on Friday morning.
The Legislature could take further action on the matters during the final week of the session.
The three measures not getting public hearings are Initiative 2109 to repeal the capital gains tax, Initiative 2117 to repeal the Climate Commitment Act, and Initiative 2124 to allow more people to opt out of the state’s long-term care program. Those will likely be decided by voters during the November general election.
