The People Speak, Part IV: Let’s Go Washington’s Initiatives — Protecting Parental Rights

Part Four in a four-part series on Let’s Go Washington’s Six Initiatives.
Here is the full series: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, and Part Four.

The topic of parental rights is not unfamiliar to many Washington parents, especially after last year’s legislative session when Governor Jay Inslee (D-WA) signed SB 5599 into law. That law allows minors to be harbored against their parents wishes in order to receive irreversible “gender affirming surgeries,” and to be paid for with your tax dollars. Now is a crucial time to stand up for this fundamental right in our state.

Let’s Go Washington, a conservative citizen-action group, knows just how important defending the authority of parents over their children is, and when they set their sights on six major issues they wanted to see resolved in 2024, one of them was protecting parental rights.

Initiative 2081 would allow parents and guardians of children in public school to review their child’s curriculum in advance and have full access to the student’s health and disciplinary records, avoiding the all-too-common occurrence of schools helping students “transition” their gender behind their parents’ backs. The ballot measure specifies that it would “require public schools to provide parents and guardians with certain notifications, including about medical services given and when students are taken off campus; access to calendars and certain policies; and written notice and opportunities to opt students out of comprehensive sexual-health education and answering certain surveys or assignments.”

Last week, the Washington State Secretary of State officially notified the legislature that the signature verification process and certification for Initiative 2081 was successfully completed. Rep. Jim Walsh (R-Aberdeen), the sponsor and author of the initiative, released the following statement regarding its official introduction to the legislature:

For many Washingtonians, I-2081 may be the most important of the recent group of initiatives to the legislature. Some people call I-2081 a “Parents Bill of Rights” — and that phrase does appear in the initiative. However, to me, it’s most important that I-2081 clearly states that parents are the primary stakeholders in their children’s upbringing. I-2081 strikes a common-sense balance in public policy. It doesn’t change Washington’s “mature minor” doctrine. However, it does allow parents and legal guardians to know what their minor children are experiencing. This encourages and empowers stable and healthy families.

Certified initiatives to the legislature are submitted during the regular session in January, and we are pleased to report that all six initiatives filed by Let’s Go Washington have now been officially certified by the Secretary of State. That is terrific news.

Now, there are three options:

The legislature has the option to adopt the initiative as proposed, making it a law without being placed on the ballot.
Alternatively, they can reject or choose not to act on the initiative, leading to its placement on the ballot during the next general election.
Another possibility is for the legislature to propose a different bill addressing the same subject; in that case, both measures would be included on the ballot.

This event in the story of Washington is still unfolding, and we will continue to keep track. If you are energized by talk of these successful initiatives and want to join the fight, click here to apply to be on our team of DEFENDERS. The fight is not over!

Part Four in a four-part series on Let’s Go Washington’s Six Initiatives.
Here is the full series: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, and Part Four.

Additional Resources