The group Let’s Go Washington on Tuesday announced it is submitting signatures to put on the ballot a parents’-rights initiative that could be decided by voters next November.
Fueled by a big donor, Brian Heywood, the conservative group is aiming to qualify half a dozen proposed initiatives to the Legislature by an end-of-year deadline.
The proposed parents-rights’ initiative, Initiative 2081, would let parents and guardians of public-school children review curricula and student records, including disciplinary and health information, according to a summary of the proposal. Among other things, the measure would allow parents to opt their children out of sex education.
“A parent’s right to care for their child is foundational to strong communities and a functioning society,” Heywood said in a statement. “Parents are the primary stakeholder in raising children. No government employee can care about or love a child like their parent.”
The citizen sponsor of I-2081 is state Rep. Jim Walsh, R-Aberdeen, who is also chairman of the Washington State Republican Party. Let’s Go Washington gathered more than 420,000 signatures, nearly 100,000 more than needed to qualify, according to the group.
The proposal comes after loud opposition by conservatives to a comprehensive sexual education law passed a few years ago – and later approved by voters. A law passed earlier this year, Senate Bill 5599, has also rankled conservatives.
That new law expands an existing statute allowing organizations that provide services to unsheltered youth to hold off on notifying a guardian or parent if there are compelling reasons, such as neglect or abuse. SB 5599 added protected health care services as a reason to delay notification. Such services include reproductive health care and gender-affirming treatment. The bill quickly became a target in the national culture wars.
I-2081 is an initiative to the Legislature, and if it qualifies, lawmakers in the Democratic-controlled Legislature can either choose to pass it during the upcoming legislative session, which begins in January; take no action and let I-2081 go to the ballot; or pass an alternative proposal, which would send both I-2018 and the alternative to a vote of the people.
Last month, Let’s Go Washington submitted signatures for I-2117, an initiative to the Legislature that seeks to repeal Washington’s carbon cap-and-trade system.