LYNNWOOD—Let’s Go Washington this morning announced that it will be introducing a new Parental Rights initiative to repeal Senate Bill 5181 passed by the Washington State Senate last month which the group says guts parent’s voices in schools.
The new initiative will re-establish protections for students in schools and re-affirm that parents are the primary stakeholders in medical, academic, and personal decisions.
The Washington Parent’s Bill of Rights was put forward by the People of Washington in 2023 in the form of Initiative 2081. In 2024, that Initiative was passed into law by large majority votes in both the Washington State Senate (the vote in support was unanimous, 49-0) and the State House of Representatives (the vote in support was a strong supermajority, 82-15).
The Washington Parents’ Bill of Rights added new language to RCW 28A.605.005, clarifying and strengthening the rights of custodial parents and guardians in Washington to know what their minor children are experiencing at school and in certain health-care situations.
The new law, as a result of I-2081, was immediately challenged in Washington state court by a consortium of special interest groups. In January 2025, that legal challenge was rejected by the court, which ruled that the Washington Parents’ Bill of Rights is good law and does not violate the Washington state constitution.
On February 5, 2025, the Washington State Senate passed, 30-19 strictly along party-lines, Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5181, which overturns key elements of the Washington Parents’ Bill of Rights, says Let’s Go Washington.
According to the Senate’s version of the bill it removes rights related to notification requirements regarding medical services and treatment:
- Removes notification for parents to receive prior notification when medical services are being offered to their child.
- Removes notification to parents when the school has arranged directly or indirectly for medical treatment that results in follow- up care beyond normal school hours.
The bill does lists the following ten additional rights of parents and guardians and includes cross references to existing state law for each:
- to file a complaint on behalf of their child relating to harassment, intimidation, and bullying;
- to have their child qualify for enrollment in a school district if they are transferred to, or pending transfer to, a military installation within the state;
- to have their child qualify without a legal residence for enrollment in a school district;
- to have their child whose primary language is not English access supplemental instruction and services through the transitional bilingual instruction program;
- to receive annual notice of the public school’s language access policies and services, the parents’ rights to free language access services and the contact information for any language access services;
- to request enrollment for their child in a nonresident school district;
- to be notified of unexcused absences and to engage in efforts to eliminate or reduce their child’s absences;
- to request information about special education programs and assistance for their child if their child is eligible for but not receiving special education services, including due to illness;
- to request an appeal to the Superintendent of Public Instruction if their child with disabilities has been denied the opportunity of a special education program by a school district or public school; and
- to access special education due process hearings regarding their child.
The intent of this new Initiative, according to Let’s Go Washington, is to reverse SB-5181 and restore all elements of Initiative 2081, the Washington Parents’ Bill of Rights.
Let’s Go Washington, a conservative grassroots group founded by Redmond businessman Brian Heywood, turned in a total of 2,662,310 signatures between late November through December 28 in 2023 to qualify six landmark initiatives for the 2024 ballot.
At a legislative preview hosted by the Washington State Association of Broadcasters and Allied Daily Newspapers of Washington in January 2023, House Speaker Laurie Jenkins shared her disdain for Let’s Go Washington and specifically its founder, Heywood, comparing their efforts to the “Robber Barons” of the 19th century.
Roll Call vote of SB 5181, Parents rights in education, taken on 2/5/2025:
Voting Yea: Senators Alvarado (D-34), Bateman (D-22), Chapman (D-24), Cleveland (D-49), Conway (D-29), Cortes (D-18), Dhingra (D-45), Frame (D-36), Hansen (D-23), Hasegawa (D-11), Kauffman (D-47), Krishnadasan (D-26), Liias (D-21), Lovelett (D-40), Lovick (D-44), Nobles (D-28), Orwall (D-33), Pedersen (D-43), Ramos (D-5), Riccelli (D-3), Robinson (D-38), Saldaña (D-37), Salomon (D-32), Shewmake (D-42), Slatter (D-48), Stanford (D-1), Trudeau (D-27), Valdez (D-46), Wellman (D-41), Wilson, C. (D-30)
Voting Nay: Senators Boehnke (R-8), Braun (R-20), Christian (R-4), Dozier (R-16), Fortunato (R-31), Gildon (R-25), Goehner (R-12), Harris (R-17), Holy (R-6), King (R-14), MacEwen (R-35), McCune (R-2), Muzzall (R-10), Schoesler (R-9), Short (R-7), Torres (R-15), Wagoner (R-39), Warnick (R-13), Wilson, J. (R-19)
Author: Mario Lotmore
