OLYMPIA, Wash. – The Washington State Senate passed a bill making changes to the parents rights in education passed through the initiative process in 2024. Democrats argued the changes were needed to align the initiative with other statutes, while Republicans saw the changes as a rollback of the law.
Senate Bill 5181 passed on a party-line vote of 30-19 Wednesday afternoon. The bill follows up on Initiative 2081 , which passed by a wide bipartisan margin by the legislature last year.
The initiative outlined 15 specific rights to parents relating to their child’s public school education, including access to student records and the ability to review classroom curriculum.
“We said from day one, that if it brought confusion and if clarity was needed, that we would return and make changes. and that’s what brings us to the floor of the senate here today,” said State Senator Claire Wilson (D-Federal Way), prime sponsor of the bill.
“It’s not a cleanup bill, it’s an overhaul bill,” said State Sen. Perry Dozier (R-Waitsburg) “What was in there that the parents wanted in 2081, was totally changed.”
Among the changes proposed in the bill, provisions are removed requiring notice when a child gets non-emergency medical services or treatment at school.
Democrats argued it protects the established rights of young people to make their own health care decisions.
“That makes updates on protecting the healthy privacy of students, aligning the definition of health records for consistency. And protecting student rights that are given to them already under existing state laws,” Wilson said.
However, Republicans believed the changes put the state in the middle of the
relationship between a parent and a child.
Senate Minority Leader John Braun (R-Centralia) said it does not make sense for schools to keep health information from parents who see their children for most of the day.
“How can we be so confident that the school districts can take care of this without telling the parents this is going on, enlisting their support, making sure the child has the necessary resources – not just in the classroom, but for the balance of their lives,” he said.
The bill initially changed standards around immediately notifying parents of when their child is questioned by police, or if their child is the victim of – or perpetrated – a crime. Notifications were required “at the first opportunity, but in all cases within 48 hours” under the first version of the bill.
Wilson said the intent of the change was to always give parents prompt information, while recognizing that some situations require a bit of time before notifications can be made. However, the bill was ultimately amended to retain the “immediate” standard.
“It is broad enough to allow a teacher to take a little time as necessary to ensure that all of his or her students are safe before providing prompt notification to the parents of an incident involving a specific student,” Wilson said.
How fast the bill could move through the House is unclear. Speaker Laurie Jinkins D-Tacoma) previously said there are a lot of House bills her chamber has to get through before considering any legislation from the Senate.
Similar legislation in the House includes many of the same provisions, and goes further in outlining the rights of students. Though it still has the 48-hour notification stipulation for parents of children who are victims of crime or questioned by police. That bill is awaiting a vote on the House floor.
Albert James is a television reporter covering state government as part of the Murrow News Fellowship program – a collaborative effort between news outlets statewide and Washington State University.
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