Why we are voting to pass WA’s parental-rights initiative

Our state has a strong populist history; our constitution gives Washingtonians the ability to send initiatives to the Legislature or to the ballot. This year, a conservative hedge-fund multimillionaire used that process, spending over $6 million to qualify six initiatives to the Legislature.

Once the initiatives were introduced, we asked questions about implementation, constitutionality, impact on the state budget and impact on the state.

As these questions were answered, it became clear that three of the initiatives would cause devastating and deeply felt cuts in areas we’ve heard about most from our constituents. These will go directly to the ballot: Initiative 2109 would repeal the capital gains tax and drastically reduce funding for child care, early learning and K-12 education; Initiative 2117 would repeal the Climate Commitment Act, causing further strain on our transportation budget, eliminating some projects and expanding timelines on others, all while increasing carbon emissions; and Initiative 2124 would let workers opt out of WA Cares, chipping away at Washingtonians’ ability to retire with dignity, forcing people to spend down their entire savings or retirement before getting help with long-term care.

Of the remaining three, one would prohibit an income tax — a prohibition already in our state’s constitution. Another would repeal some limitations on police pursuits, a topic the Legislature has already been working to find a balance on. Finally, one would affirm existing parental rights. Some language in this initiative raised concerns for the LGBTQ+ community in Washington.

Initiative 2081 is intended to protect parents’ right to know what their children are learning in school, obtain student records and receive written notice allowing them to opt their kids out of some classroom activities. About 90% of the initiative is already common practice or state law.

Parents can examine textbooks, curriculum and disciplinary records and opt their children out of sexual health education. 

The initiative does include some ambiguous language about health care records and decision-making, raising questions for teachers and parents. A public hearing this week clarified how the initiative interacts with existing legal protections for health care records and decision-making. Our questions and the answers:

· Does it amend adolescent access to health care treatment? No.

· Does it amend student privacy protections for health care records? No.

· Does it amend youth access to home and shelter support? No.

With these and other questions answered, we believe the initiative does not pose a threat to our LGBTQ+ youth. We will work closely with the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the State Board of Education to ensure students are protected and the initiative is implemented correctly.  

However, we stand prepared to change the law should it put any member of the LGBTQ+ community at risk or threaten in any way a young person’s right to protected health care.  

We are proud of the legal protections for the LGBTQ+ community that we’ve passed, including marriage equality, anti-trans discrimination protections, anti-bullying laws and a ban on conversion therapy.

That work continues this year, as we consider legislation that protects our schools and libraries, ensuring a small minority of people cannot remove books because they contain LGBTQ+ representation, or for any other reason.

We also know building connections to the history of the LGBTQ+ community will help the students of today see themselves in their curriculum, and will help all students better understand the world we live in. Their history is Washington history; we’re moving legislation to help affirm that in age-appropriate and contextualized ways.

Across the country, we’ve seen disgusting attacks against LGBTQ+ kids, and we are relieved that a correct implementation of Initiative 2081 does not remove existing Washington protections.

We will continue to fight for and defend our state’s values, including strong legal protections for all our kids.