Bill amending parents’ rights initiative passes another hurdle in the WA House

Mar. 31 hearing in the House Ed Committee on ESSB 5181 to amend parents bill or rights. Screenshot courtesy TVW

The bill – which passed out of the Senate on Feb. 5 on a 30-19 vote – has been hotly debated, with some arguing it undermines parental rights while others argue it aligns the initiative with existing law

Carleen Johnson
The Center Square Washington

Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5181, amending the parents’ bill of rights initiative that passed the Legislature last year, was voted out of executive session in the House Education Committee on Monday with a do-pass recommendation on an 11-8 party-line vote.

The bill – which passed out of the Senate on Feb. 5 on a 30-19 vote – has been hotly debated, with some arguing it undermines parental rights while others argue it aligns the initiative with existing law.

During executive session, Republicans offered several amendments in the hope of diluting the impact of a bill they contend seeks to dramatically amend Initiative 2081 passed last year by the Legislature. I-2081 grants parents and guardians of public school children in Washington the right to review instructional materials, inspect student records, receive certain notifications, and opt their children out of specific activities like sexual health education or certain surveys.

Amendments adopted prior to final passage out of executive session included one requiring immediate notification to parents or legal guardians if a criminal action is alleged to have been committed against their child on school property or during a school event during the school day. Another amendment put some teeth into violations of the requirement.

Another amendment that passed grants parents and legal guardians the right to request enrollment for their child in a charter school.

Just ahead of final passage, committee Chair Sharon Tomiko-Santos, D-Seattle, spoke in support of ESSB 5181.

“It takes a village to raise a child,” she said. “Certainly, our parents and legal guardians have rights, but so do our students, and so do our staff who we have entrusted to caretake and educate our students.”

Tomiko-Santos said that in an ideal world, all sides would respect one another’s role in the education setting but added that this is not the reality for every family.

“For those students who do not have the benefits that the students of the people on this dais might have, they, too, should have somebody who looks at them and says, ‘We see you’ and we are here to make sure harm does not come to [them],” she continued.

Rep. Skyler Rude, R-Walla Walla, the ranking minority member on the committee urged a ‘no’ vote on the bill.

“There are some pretty significant philosophical differences among members of this body when it comes to autonomy of minors,” he said. “I feel … making some of these decisions even under current law at age 13 or 14 is not age appropriate.”

Rude also suggested, as previously reported by The Center Square, that the title of EESB 5181 means the legislation wouldn’t hold up in court.

“I think the title is completely messed up and it’s impossible to make changes to existing law with the current title,” he explained.

He was referencing the bill’s title, which states it’s “An act related to amending the parents’ rights initiative to bring it into existing law.” The bill’s opponents argue I-2081 is existing law, so the title – and intent – of the bill is nonsensical.

Rep. Kristine Reeves, D-Federal Way, urged a ‘yes’ vote, sharing her own painful childhood experience of being abused and neglected.

“Some of us come to this debate with fear of our parents and some of us are coming to this debate with lived experience,” she said, saying the legislation would protect vulnerable children who may not have a good support system at home.

Joel McEntire, R-Cathlamet, waited until just before the committee’s final vote to comment.

“This bill and bills like it have taken a lot of time in this committee,” he said. “The problem is the outcomes are already before us. Every year, we come back to session, and we get a brief on where we are, and we have hemorrhaged thousands of students. This bill isn’t helping us remedy those things.”

After passing out of the House Education Committee, the bill moves to the full House for a vote.

This report was first published by The Center Square Washington.