WA Democrats reportedly block move to nix 48-hour scholastic assault reporting requirement
State Sen. Claire Wilson, D-Federal Way, attested to the Washington State Standard the bill overall "doesn't change any rights" and is a "cleanup bill" that updates health privacy provisions to align with current law.
In a House Education Committee hearing this week, one lawmaker unsuccessfully attempted to undo the 48-hour rule and require immediate parental notification.
"The underlying bill essentially states that schools can wait 48 hours before they tell parents if their children were involved in any kind of criminal action or if there was any sexual misconduct of staff," said state Rep. Travis Couture, R-Shelton.
"And we have seen a stunning amount of sexual misconduct and sexual assaults by educators in our schools just in the last year itself."
He cited reports that two principals in the Vancouver, Wash., area "hid information" from parents on sexual misconduct against a teen.
"As a parent myself, I would be disgusted and sickened to know if my kids had some kind of sexual abuse put upon them by staff, and I wasn't notified immediately of those things. . . . For God's sake, vote yes [on the amendment]."
But Democrat Lillian Ortiz-Self argued that as a school guidance counselor, she was trained in how to best deal with such situations.
"It's very clear that we take direction from law enforcement and from the Department of Children and Family Services whenever there's a crime that has taken place and that we must sit here and give them the time to do the investigation so that justice can be served. Our role in the schools is to support the child and support the parents," said Ortiz-Self, of Mukilteo.
Ortiz-Self said authorities must not have their investigations "impeded," to which KTTH commentator Jason Rantz reacted incredulously in a column.
"She didn't say, most likely because it's a completely contrived concern," he wrote.
Couture's amendment to ensure immediate parental notification failed in an ensuing voice vote, with House Education Committee chairwoman Sharon Tomiko-Santos, D-Seattle, voting "nay" and deeming the vote unsuccessful.
Following Couture's attempt to undo the change, another committee member raised a new amendment regarding parental notification if they are accused of a crime and have "more than just a meet and greet with a police officer."
"We just heard if law enforcement are involved, parents should be involved as well. They should have the bare minimum of a notification when it comes to law enforcement questioning a child," said state Rep. Matt Marshall, R-Roy.
"There are just certain protections that are afforded to all of us as members of society given by our Constitution. And one of them is the right to legal protection. And we're innocent until proven guilty. If parents aren't even involved, then children are potentially not aware of their rights. If they're being questioned, who's to say what they're going to admit to when they're being accused of a crime?"
Marshall later said committee Democrats rejected two dozen Republican amendments in what he called a "blatant disregard for parents' rights" and children's safety.
"[This is] further proof that Dems care more about their woke agenda than protecting our kids," he said.
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San Francisco Chronicle
20 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Defamation case against Fox News highlights role of its hosts in promoting 2020 election falsehoods
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Politico
an hour ago
- Politico
Sacramento takes its gerrymandering bow
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Assembly Minority Leader James Gallagher even said Trump was 'wrong' to push a Texas redraw. 'You move forward fighting fire with fire and what happens? You burn it all down,' Gallagher said. But passage was never in doubt. Democratic lawmakers had long since fallen in line behind a tactic emanating from the highest levels of the party, including Newsom and House Democrats. Every Senate Democrat voted aye and only two of the Assembly Democrats who were present did not: Alex Lee, a progressive leader who has long voiced concerns, and Jasmeet Bains, who is running to unseat Rep. David Valadao in a district that could soon turn bluer. So Thursday's voting and speechifying was more instructive in how it augured the themes of a bruising election campaign. You can expect to hear about how Trump's agenda has hurt Californians. Democrats denounced immigration raids unleashed on Los Angeles and deplored healthcare cuts in Trump's signature legislation. 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Attorney General Rob Bonta issued an opinion recently that concluded all fantasy sports betting sites are prohibited under state law. His office has yet to enforce the opinion, though. — Lindsey Holden, with help from Dustin Gardiner TRUST FALL: Republican voters in California are about as likely to put their faith in tech companies to regulate artificial intelligence as they are President Donald Trump's government, and more likely to trust either than members of the opposing party, according to a new POLITICO-Citrin Center-Possibility Lab poll. That is a notable shift, since for a decade or more technology emanating from Silicon Valley in the heart of deep-blue California was branded by Republicans as carrying a liberal slant. The party has found opportunities to take Big Tech to task for everything from alleged online censorship of conservative voices to kids' safety on social media. But the pivot from Republicans tracks with a rightward turn for tech during Trump's second term. 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an hour ago
Redistricting arms race: These are the states in addition to Texas and California where parties could redraw maps
As Texas Republicans prepare to approve and adopt new congressional maps at the urging of President Donald Trump, and Democrats aim to respond in California, several other states could follow suit. Republicans in Indiana, Missouri, and Florida have openly discussed the possibility of reworking their maps ahead of the 2026 midterms, while Democratic governors in Illinois, New York, and Maryland have also floated doing the same. Indiana, which has two Democratic seats, appears to be the furthest along, as Vice President JD Vance has met with Gov. Mike Braun, R-Indiana, and state lawmakers on the issue. ABC News has reviewed the process in states across the country and identified some of the most likely to take up redistricting on their own. Each state has their own rules governing redistricting, and laws on the books dictating how to do so. Both parties take part in gerrymandering -- drawing up state congressional maps for partisan gain. Some states have independent and nonpartisan commissions established by state legislators that are tasked with drawing up maps. The bottom line: Republicans have more opportunities across the map to gerrymander House districts than Democrats. In most states where Democrats are in control of the statehouse and governor's mansion, there are legal and constitutional barriers to revisiting their maps in the middle of the decade as a result of previous efforts to install independent commissions and, in some cases, prior state court rulings. Current House makeup: 219 Republicans, 212 Democrats, 4 vacancies (3 Democrat-held, 1 GOP-held) With all seats filled, Republicans would have a 220-215 House majority. Democrats would have to net three seats with the current map to win back control of the House in 2026. Texas: Republicans on track to approve new map Current makeup: 25-13 Republicans. Possible makeup after redistricting: 30-8 Republican, +5 GOP. A proposed map from Texas Republicans would flip five districts red by merging Democratic seats in the Houston, Austin, and Dallas-Fort Worth areas to form new Republican-leaning seats and by making two Rio Grande Valley districts currently held by Democrats more competitive. The map does not appear to significantly weaken any GOP-held seats but would rely on the durability of Hispanic support for Republicans in 2024 to carry into the midterms next year. Despite leaving the state for two weeks, Democrats failed to stop the legislature from taking up the map, and the state Senate could send it to Gov. Greg Abbott's desk for his approval as soon as Thursday. Democrats are also expected to challenge it in court if adopted. California: Dems vow to 'fight fire with fire' Current makeup: 43-9 Democrats. Possible makeup after redistricting/special election: 48-4, Democrat, +5 Democrat. The California Senate and State Assembly are considering a package of bills this week pushed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom that would tee up a special election this fall on a constitutional amendment that would replace the current House map for the remainder of the decade—freezing the independent commission's work for a partisan map that would net Democrats five seats. The new map would shore up five Democrat-held seats by giving them more reliably blue slices of the state. It would also alter five Republican-held seats to make them easier for Democrats to flip. Because the commission was enshrined in the state constitution, voters need to approve the map changes, teeing up a messy and costly ballot initiative fight that will flood television and radio airwaves. It could be a challenge: Voters approved this new system overwhelmingly in the past, and depending on how California voters are polled, independent redistricting remains popular. Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and former U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, both Republicans, have come out against the effort and could mobilize support against Newsom's plans. Ohio: Old map sunsets in 2026. Current makeup: 10-5 Republicans. Ohio's current House map, drawn up by the GOP-led redistricting commission, sunsets in 2026, giving Republicans another opportunity to draw new districts and consider a new map this fall. Republicans have floated plans for a new map that could target Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur, the longest-serving woman in the history of Congress, who represents a district carried by Trump. Rep. Emilia Sykes, a Democrat who represents the Akron area, also narrowly won reelection. Other states considering map changes: Indiana Current: 7-2 Republicans. Republicans could gain another seat by splitting up Democratic Rep. Frank Mrvan's district in the northwest corner of the state, and maybe two by splitting up Rep. Andre Carson's Indianapolis-based district. Mrvan narrowly won his seat in 2024, and Trump nearly carried it as well. The state does not explicitly prohibit mid-decade redistricting, but Gov. Mike Braun would have to call a special session for the legislature to remake the map. Vice President JD Vance and the White House have pressured Indiana Republicans to take up the map. Trump may also be pressuring Republicans to carve up the map by withholding federal resources, according to Puck. Missouri Current: 6-2 Republicans. Trump has posted on social media about pursuing redistricting in Missouri. State law does not prohibit mid-decade redistricting, though GOP Gov. Mike Kehoe has been noncommittal about a new map. A spokesperson for Kehoe did not respond to an ABC request for comment on Trump's post appearing to celebrate the possibility of redistricting. Republicans could consider flipping the 5th District, currently held by Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver. In 2022, infighting erupted within the GOP over whether to pursue this 7-1 map, which would require splintering Kansas City voters into neighboring rural districts, and the legislature ultimately pushed forward the existing 6-2 map amid concerns that the change could backfire and make several GOP-held districts more competitive. Florida Current: 20-8 Republicans. Gov. Ron DeSantis has suggested Florida can join the fray and become the latest GOP state to redo its congressional maps. He's argued that the state's districts are "malapportioned" and that the state was undercounted in the last census, although it's not clear that it could be awarded a new seat before a new census. State leaders have also said they will set up a redistricting committee. At the same time, it's unclear how many more seats Republicans could pick up. The current map already favors Republicans 20-8. Legal challenges to Republican-drawn maps could cite Florida's 2010 constitutional amendment forbidding partisan gerrymandering. The State Supreme Court ruled in July to uphold the state's 2021 map, which eliminated former Democratic Rep. Al Lawson's majority-Black district and split it up among three Republican districts. Illinois Current makeup: 14-3 Democrats. Illinois Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker has said he would consider responding to Republicans in Texas in kind, and there's nothing in the state constitution that would prevent him from doing so. But Democrats already have an iron grip on their state's map thanks to a statehouse supermajority, and it would be hard for the party to draw out more than one Republican member without severely weakening any Democrat-held seats. New York Current makeup: 19-7 Democrats. Possible makeup after redistricting: 23-3 Democrat, +3-4 Democratic* (unlikely before 2026.) Despite threats from Gov. Kathy Hochul, New York Democrats are limited by state law in what they can do in the near term to counter changes in Texas. An independent commission has the authority to draw maps -- though the state legislature can accept, reject or modify its proposals. New York state law prohibits partisan gerrymandering and mid-decade changes except in the case of court orders. The current maps, which led to 19 of the state's 26 congressional districts to go to Democrats, were redrawn in 2024 after a prolonged legal battle. Democrats introduced a bill in the state legislature to allow New York to redraw maps mid-decade if another state does so, but this constitutional amendment would have to pass the legislature twice before going in front of voters, making 2028 the earliest it could go into effect. The only options for Democrats ahead of 2026 are to legally challenge their own 2024 map, prompting redrawing via another court order, or to draw new maps regardless, which would likely be challenged in court. On Wednesday, Hochul said New York would respond to Texas' new map, but did not say how Democrats would do so. "In New York, we'll confront Trump's legal insurrection head-on. We'll meet him on the same field and beat him at his own game," she said. Maryland Current: 7-1 Democrats Maryland Gov. Wes Moore has been less enthusiastic about the prospect of Democrats combating Republican efforts with their own gerrymandering. Moore didn't dismiss the possibility of redistricting but also emphasized to ABC News that he believes in "fair elections." The state legislature is tasked with drawing congressional districts, and there is no prohibition against a mid-decade redistricting -- leaving the door open for Democrats to attempt to redraw the maps ahead of the midterms. State House Majority Leader David Moon introduced a bill that would force Maryland to redraw its lines if another state proposed a new map mid-decade. That said, Democrats only have the opportunity to pick up one seat, and in 2022, an 8-0 map was struck down by a state court as an illegal partisan gerrymander.
