Republicans, Democrats debate wording on schools notifying parents of abuse

Yahoo

06-02-2025

Feb. 5—A viral post on social media regarding when state agencies are required to notify parents of suspected child abuse is an example of "politics at its worst," a Democratic legislator said Tuesday.
But Republicans say Democrats are gutting the Parental Bill of Rights, which the Legislature approved last year. Part of that law says that schools must give parents "immediate notification if a criminal action is deemed to have been committed against their child or by their child."
A Democratic proposal would requires schools to inform parents "at the first opportunity but in all cases within forty-eight hours of receiving a report alleging sexual misconduct or abuse by an agency employee, notify the parents or guardian of a child alleged to be the victim, target, or recipient of the misconduct or abuse."
Republicans say that weakens the provision in the Parental Bill of Rights which was approved by the legislature last year following a successful signature gathering campaign.
"House Democrats on the Education Committee voted against an amendment to House Bill 1296 that would have required school districts to immediately notify parents if a student is the victim of sexual misconduct by an employee," Washington State House Republicans wrote in a Facebook post that has been shared more than 1,100 times as of Tuesday.
During a media availability Tuesday, House Majority Floor Leader Rep. Monica Stonier, D-Vancouver, said that "the question that's being raised around whether Democrats care to make sure parents are immediately notified is unbecoming of an elected official, I believe, to be causing that kind of confusion to the public."
"As a person who has been directly asked why I intend to keep information from parents, as a teacher and as a parent, I find that claim unprofessional," Stonier said.
By the time Stonier spoke, the post had been shared widely on social media, first from the Washington State House Republicans and later amplified by state Rep. and GOP chairman Jim Walsh. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz jumped in last week and further elevated the post, calling the vote "insane" in a post on the social media platform X.
As of 4:30 Tuesday, Cruz's post had been shared more than 13,000 times and liked more than 49,000 times on X. Republican leadership seemed pleased with the increased visibility during a media availability Tuesday, with Deputy Minority Leader Rep. Chris Corry, R-Yakima, saying Democrats "had made the national news for all of the wrong reasons."
"Claiming that it's not important for a school to notify parents if a child has been assaulted on campus," Corry said.
The post also lacks context around what's required under Washington law, Democrat leadership said Tuesday, as they pointed to a provision of state law that's been on the books for 20 years.
Under the Revised Code of Washington, the Department of Children, Youth and Families is required "at the first opportunity but in all cases within forty-eight hours of receiving a report alleging sexual misconduct or abuse by an agency employee, notify the parents or guardian of a child alleged to be the victim, target, or recipient of the misconduct or abuse."
During a House Education Committee hearing last week, Rep. Travis Couture, R-Allyn, introduced an amendment that would have required immediate parental notification in such instances, which he said comes after the state has seen "a stunning amount of sexual misconduct and sexual assaults from educators in our schools."
"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," Couture said.
Corry said Tuesday that he "can't say he's got a personal story" from a constituent about a school delaying notification, though he's "seen stories in the news from various places."
"But I think the bigger question is: Why wouldn't we notify parents if something happened to their kids at school?" Corry said. "My gut tells me that it's a pretty easy answer: We should notify them."
Senate Majority Leader Jaimie Pedersen, D-Seattle, said the timeline in the existing statute comes from a bipartisan bill, which was previously passed by the legislature unanimously. Pedersen added that "schools are going to notify as soon as they practically can."
"It allows for schools to do exactly what the Republicans saw the Democrats are trying to stop, which is to immediately notify parents," Stonier said. "So that claim is untrue and irresponsible, in my opinion, to cause confusion to the public."
The 48-hour window, Stonier said, allows schools and officials "to get the facts clear so that accurate information is provided to the right adults who are responsible for that child." State Rep. Lillian Ortiz-Self, D-Mukilteo, made a similar argument as she asked her seatmates to vote against an amendment during the Jan. 30 House Education Committee hearing.
"As a school counselor, one of the first things we're trained in is how to deal with these situations, and it's very clear that we take direction from law enforcement and the Department of Children, Youth and Families whenever there is a crime that has taken place," Ortiz-Self said. "And that we must adhere, and give them the time to do the investigation so that justice can be served."
S-R reporter Elena Perry contributed to this article.
Editor's note: This article was changed on February 5, 2025 to add context related to the Parental Bill of Rights.