Latest news with #SenateBill5181
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Rewrite of parental rights law passes Washington House
Tense floor debate in the House on Monday, April 14, 2025 about Senate Bill 5181, the bill regarding parental rights. (Photo by Jacquelyn Jimenez Romero/Washington State Standard) Washington House lawmakers, for nearly five hours on Monday, battled through the latest round of debate in the state Legislature over parental rights. Democrats say the bill they approved is needed to clarify parts of a citizen initiative that the Legislature passed last year and to align it with other state and federal laws. Republicans frame the effort as a strategy to gut the earlier measure, which lays out certain rights for the parents of public school students. The bill passed on a party-line vote, 56-39. Democrats at one point invoked a rule to halt debate on amendments, which sped up proceedings but also blocked Republicans from voicing concerns. 'Not every child in this state or in this country has the benefit of parents who are loving, who are supportive, who are there for them,' said Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos, D-Seattle, who chairs the House Education Committee. Republicans slammed the bill, at times characterizing it as one of the worst Democrats have put forward this year. 'This bill is creating a wedge, putting a wedge between parents and their children,' said Rep. Stephanie Barnard, R-Pasco. 'I feel like the schools should not operate under the premise that the parents are bad or dangerous, that type of premise, again, creates that wedge.' House approval moves the legislation closer to becoming state law, but because the bill was amended, it must go back to the Senate before it can potentially head to the governor's desk. Initiative 2081 was a citizen initiative that more than 400,000 residents signed onto and that was approved in last year's legislative session. It declared 15 specific rights for the parents and guardians of public school children under the age of 18. Two bills linked to the initiative are currently in play — Senate Bill 5181, which the House approved on Monday and House Bill 1296, which was overhauled last month to deal largely with the rights of students. The Senate approved House Bill 1296 on Friday. Some of the biggest changes Senate Bill 5181 would make to the law passed last year are around parents' access to their children's medical records, including for mental health counseling. It would remove the rights of parents to receive prior notification when medical services are being offered to their child, except where emergency medical treatment is required. The same goes for notifications about when a school has arranged directly or indirectly for medical treatment that results in follow-up care outside normal school hours. Democrats say some of those rights are still included in other state and federal laws but students do have privacy rights when it comes to their health care. For example, a 1985 law gives children 13 years or older the right to mental health treatment without parental consent. The bill also removes language from the existing parental rights law that would make medical and mental health records available to a child's parents. But here again, Democratic lawmakers have suggested that parents should still have access to these types of records under other state laws. 'The medical records that are being referenced are not created in school environments,' said Rep. Monica Stonier, D-Vancouver. 'Educational records are educational records and are governed by public school policy. Health care records are health care records. Those are not created by school personnel.' Similar to the law approved last year, the bill calls for 'immediate notification' of parents if there's an allegation of a crime committed against their child, or if their child is interrogated by police. It also adds other notifications, including when a child has been detained for involvement in criminal activity or if a school shooting occurs. The bill specifies that schools don't have to release records to parents who are under investigation for, or charged with, child abuse or neglect. During Monday's floor action, Republicans introduced 15 amendments, of which two were adopted. These included ones calling for parents to receive a copy of a child's public school records within 10 business days, instead of 45 days, and to publish a notice that identifies medical services made available to students without prior consent of a parent or legal guardian. Republicans blasted Democrats for cutting off debate. Earlier in the session, Democrats changed the House rules so they could do this with the support of a simple majority rather than two-thirds of members. 'We knew this day might come, but to see it unfold during the Parental Rights initiative — backed by nearly half a million voters — is a disgrace, ' Republican Deputy Minority Leader Rep. Chris Corry, R-Yakima, said in a statement. Rep. Jeremie Dufault, R-Selah, said the bill 'led to the censorship of representatives of the people of Washington state who strongly supported the initiative.' Rejected amendments included ones calling for parents to get prior notification when medical services are being offered to their child, to receive medical records, including for mental health counseling, for children under 12, and to remove the emergency clause that would allow the bill to take effect immediately and prevent it from facing a potential voter referendum. Republicans also proposed an amendment to block transgender girls from participating in girls' sports. 'This amendment relies on two erroneous premises, the first that trans girls are not girls, not true, and the second, that boys are inherently better athletes than girls, not true,' said Rep. Sharlett Mena, D-Tacoma, before Democrats rejected the amendment. GOP lawmakers also sought to prohibit pornographic images from instructional materials, but Democrats said certain images may be needed to teach science and health curriculum and voted this down, too. When the Legislature passed the initiative last year, Democrats said that they would revisit the law if it created confusion. 'That's exactly what we're doing, is coming back to provide the clarity that we said needed to be done in order to make sure that the bill that we pass aligns with our current state law,' said Sen. Claire Wilson, D-Auburn, the sponsor of the Senate bill on students' rights.
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Voters could get final say on changes to Washington's parental ‘bill of rights'
Brian Heywood, founder of Let's Go Washington, the political committee behind the parents' 'bill of rights' measure approved by the Washington Legislature last year. He said the group filed a measure Tuesday to prevent lawmakers from changing the year-old law. (Jerry Cornfield / Washington State Standard) The conservative political group behind three failed measures on last year's Washington ballot filed an initiative Tuesday to prevent the Democrat-controlled Legislature and governor from making any changes in a year-old parental 'bill of rights' law. But the Democratic leader of the state Senate is blasting the move as 'a publicity stunt' and said what the group submitted to the secretary of state's office 'is not a real thing.' The one-page measure from Let's Go Washington would repeal Senate Bill 5181. That bill seeks to retool language in Initiative 2081, which the Legislature overwhelmingly approved 12 months ago. Let's Go Washington backed that initiative too, but lawmakers opted to pass it rather than send it to voters. Senate Bill 5181 cleared the Senate on Feb. 5 along party lines, 30-19. It awaits action in the House. That legislation is 'Democrats' cynical attempt' to strip parents of their rights and keep important medical and mental health information hidden, said Brian Heywood, founder of Let's Go Washington. Filing the initiative before the fate of the legislation is known puts lawmakers on notice that voters could get the final say, Heywood said. Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle, said anyone attempting to repeal a state law would need to submit a measure containing the full text of the statute and any changes clearly marked. Therefore, Pedersen said, opponents of Senate Bill 5181 are jumping the gun. 'They cannot start an initiative until they have a bill,' he said. At that point, to reach the ballot, the group would need to turn in signatures of at least 308,911 registered voters by 5 p.m. on July 3. However, they would likely not be able to begin circulating petitions until the bill is signed, which could be as late as mid-May. The secretary of state's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In 2023, Let's Go Washington led the signature gathering for six initiatives, including Initiative 2081. Each was an initiative to the Legislature, meaning lawmakers had the option of approving it or allowing it to go on the ballot. The Legislature did approve measures concerning taxes, vehicle pursuits conducted by law enforcement officers, along with Initiative 2081. In November, voters defeated initiatives to repeal the capital gains tax, erase the Climate Commitment Act, and make the long term care program voluntary. Initiative 2081 codified rights for the parents of public school students on matters like reviewing classroom materials, obtaining medical records, and opting children out of assignments involving questions about a child's sexual experiences or their family's religious beliefs. It passed the Senate unanimously and the House on an 82-15 vote. At the time, Democrats said that they would likely need to revise the measure this session, citing confusing language that did not align with other state and federal laws. Heywood and Republicans argue the changes in Senate Bill 5181 undermine the 423,000 voters who signed initiative petitions. 'The majority party in the legislature realized parental notification is a popular hot-button issue with overwhelming support so they passed I-2081 into law with a large bipartisan majority,' Heywood said in a statement. 'It now appears, however, that they did so with a snarky wink and a nod and the intent to gut the bill during the next legislative session.' Rep. Monica Stonier, D-Vancouver, voted for the measure and is sponsoring a bill this session promoting a students' bill of rights. She said Tuesday's filing of an initiative won't influence the conversation on the Senate bill. 'They can choose any time frame they want,' she said. 'We are going to continue to stand for the parental rights that we believe are already in existence and to continue to fight to ensure students have a safe learning environment and inclusive curriculum.' She expressed confidence that if the battle reaches the ballot, voters will uphold their actions. In 2020, following the enactment of a law mandating comprehensive sex education in every district's curriculum in every grade, a group of social conservatives set out to repeal it. But the referendum effort failed, marking the first time voters in any state had upheld such a policy. 'When voters get through the noise and the lies and they understand what it's about, they tend to support students,' Stonier said. This story has been updated with comment from Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen.
Axios
25-02-2025
- Health
- Axios
Washington lawmakers debate changes to "parents' bill of rights"
Democrats are trying to amend the "parents' bill of rights" Washington's Legislature passed last year, including by removing requirements that parents be notified of medical services their children receive through school. Why it matters: The debate reflects a tug-of-war between the new law that was sought by conservatives last year and the state's long history of letting teens decide their own mental and reproductive health care. Previous Washington laws allowed teenagers to seek outpatient mental health treatment, sexually transmitted disease testing and abortions without requiring parental notification or consent. Catch up quick: Initiative 2081 guaranteed parents of public school children more than a dozen rights, including to inspect their children's school records and receive notice of medical care delivered or arranged for at school. Parts of the measure were on hold until last month, when a King County Superior Court judge dismissed a legal challenge that sought to overturn the initiative. What they're saying: State Sen. Claire Wilson (D-Federal Way) said in a Senate floor speech this month that "redundancies" and "contradictions" exist between I-2081 and other state and federal laws, causing confusion for school districts that are trying to implement the new initiative. Wilson said her proposal, Senate Bill 5181, is a "cleanup bill" that focuses on "protecting the health privacy of students." The measure passed the state Senate this month on a party-line vote and is now before the state House. Both chambers are controlled by Democrats. A separate House proposal would similarly remove I-2081's mandate that parents receive advance notice of medical treatment. The other side: State Rep. Jim Walsh, the state GOP party chair who drafted I-2081, told Axios there's no real conflict in state law. He accused Democrats of trying to overturn the parents' bill of rights by gutting key provisions. Requiring parental notification of medical treatment is "not the same thing" as requiring parental consent, he added. Between the lines: Underlying the parental rights debate are Republicans' concerns that minors could receive gender-affirming care through school without their parents' knowledge. State Rep. Travis Couture (R-Allyn) posted on X that "the definition of 'mental health care' has radically changed" in recent decades. That makes Washington's law allowing minors to seek mental health care without parental consent more problematic today than it was 40 years ago, he argued. "What once meant talk therapy and substance abuse counseling has now expanded to include gender-affirming medical treatments, psychiatric medications, and reproductive services — all without parental involvement," Couture wrote. What's next: Both chambers of the Legislature would need to approve any changes to I-2081 before they could become law. The legislative session is scheduled to run through April 27.
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
WA senator sparks fury with description of 40-year-old law limiting parental rights
Washington state Capitol (Jerry Cornfield/Washington State Standard) State Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen didn't foresee the furor that would erupt over his description of a four-decade-old Washington law limiting parental power. 'Kids over 13 have the complete right to make their own decisions about their mental health care,' the Seattle Democrat told a Fox News reporter during a Feb. 5 television interview. 'Parents don't have a right to have notice, they don't have a right to have consent about that.' Two days later, that clip went viral on X, drawing millions of views on the social media platform, and eventually becoming the top item trending nationally. Even Elon Musk, who owns X and is serving as a top adviser to President Donald Trump, got engaged. But the soundbite wasn't the whole story and Pedersen says his remarks were pulled out of context. The flareup comes amid a Democratic-led effort to make changes to a parental 'bill of rights' measure the Washington Legislature approved last year. On Monday, in an interview with the Standard, Pedersen said it was the first time that 'somebody deliberately edited my comments to mislead.' 'I think I won't be accepting interview requests from Fox News anymore,' he said. A transcript of the interview provided by Pedersen's staff shows he offered a lengthier response when asked: 'Where do you come down on the right of parents to know what they want to know about their child's academic life, their health care, everything.' 'If it's about their mental health care, we've drawn a line I think at age 13 in the statute and say that kids over 13 have the complete right to make their own decisions about their mental health care,' Pedersen replied. 'Parents don't have a right to have notice, they don't have a right to have consent about that.' Pedersen was referring to a Washington law concerning behavioral health services for minors that dates back to 1985. The law defines an adolescent as 'a minor thirteen years of age or older.' And it says 'an adolescent may admit himself or herself to an evaluation and treatment facility for inpatient mental health treatment or an approved substance use disorder treatment program for inpatient substance use disorder treatment without parental consent.' The same law lets minors leave this treatment when they want to as well. The interview occurred hours before the Senate passed the controversial Senate Bill 5181 that retrofits provisions of the citizen initiative establishing the parental bill of rights. Democrats approved the bill over opposition from Republicans, who argued the changes undercut the intent of the original measure. The Senate bill is now headed to the House where Republicans are prepping for another round in the fight. Republicans in Washington fueled the social media firestorm on Pedersen's comments. Some kept it political. Others got personal. Pedersen and his husband have four children and he said the attacks are taking a toll on his family. 'I signed up for this. I'm not going to be too upset,' he said. 'The hardest part is the effect that it has on my husband and my kids. My kids are reading about how I bought my twins in San Diego on the black market. I don't have twins. I have triplets,' he added. 'They were born in San Diego so they got that right.' Some commenters seemed aghast at the state law Pedersen referenced. What Pedersen said in another televised clip from the interview about parents and pregnant children stoked further outrage. 'If they're old enough to get pregnant, they're old enough to make their own decisions about what happens with their bodies, and parents do not have the right to change that,' is what aired. Pedersen's full response: 'When you're talking about a young person's health care, it's a lot more complicated, right? Young women, if they're old enough to get pregnant, they're old enough to make their own decisions about what happens with their bodies, and parents do not have the right to change that or make a different decision or be notified in advance.' Again, he was stating what's written into Washington state law. Abortion is legal, people of any age can choose to have one and they don't need consent from a parent, guardian, or partner. Rep. Travis Couture, R-Allyn, was among those who responded critically to Pedersen's remarks. 'Washington parents do not co-parent with the government, and the state does not own our kids,' Couture posted Sunday on X. 'It is time Democrats in Olympia cease promoting policies that keep secrets from parents about their kids, and stop promoting radical policies that could irreversibly harm children without parental knowledge or consent.'
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
WA Senate Democrats approve changes to parents' ‘bill of rights'
A view of the Washington state Capitol building in Olympia, obscured by a slight mist, Jan. 27, 2025. (Photo by Bill Lucia/Washington State Standard) Washington Senate Democrats on Wednesday approved changes to an initiative passed last year that establishes a parental 'bill of rights' for families with children in the state's K-12 schools. When lawmakers passed Initiative 2081 last year, Democrats said that they would likely need to make changes to it in the future, citing confusing language that did not align with other state and federal laws. Senate Bill 5181, which passed out of the Senate on party lines, is their attempt to fix it. But Republicans see the changes differently, saying that they undermine the voters who signed onto the initiative and could take away parents' rights to access information about their children. The initiative gave parents the ability to review school materials like textbooks and curricula, opt their child out of assignments involving questions about sexual experiences or religious beliefs, and gain access to all of their child's medical and mental health records. Bill sponsor Sen. Claire Wilson, D-Auburn, said the proposal preserves the core of the initiative while adjusting key provisions to eliminate ambiguity. 'This bill doesn't change any rights. It's a cleanup bill that makes updates on protecting the health privacy of students and protecting rights that are given to them already under existing state law,' Wilson said on the floor Wednesday. Sen. Perry Dozier, R-Waitsburg, disagreed. 'This is not a cleanup bill. It's an overhaul bill,' Dozier said. 'What was in 2081 that parents wanted has totally changed.' One of the most controversial pieces of the bill would have changed when parents are notified if their child is involved in, or is a victim of, a crime, but that piece was removed during the Senate floor debate on Wednesday. The initiative said that parents should receive 'immediate' notification if their child is questioned by law enforcement or if a crime has been committed against them. Before it was amended, Wilson's bill said that parents should be notified 'at the first opportunity, but in all cases within 48 hours.' That provision sparked concerns among Republicans who argued that 48 hours was too long. 'Parents don't want to know 48 hours later that something bad happened,' said Sen. Keith Wagoner, R-Sedro Woolley. 'They want to know as soon as possible.' Wilson said her intent was to acknowledge that sometimes real-life situations are messy and it's not always realistic to immediately drop everything to make a call. 'However, our language was clearly confusing, and our overarching goal with this bill is to eliminate confusion,' Wilson said. She added that a reasonable person's definition of 'immediate' likely provides some flexibility. Wilson's bill also removes provisions in the initiative that give parents access to medical, health and mental health records held by schools within 10 days and that require schools to notify parents when medical services are being offered or provided to their children. Instead, Wilson's bill gives parents the right to access 'education records' within 45 days of requesting them. 'Education records' are official records, files and data related to identifying information, attendance, discipline and test protocols. It also notes that nothing in the bill changes parents' access to health records in other state disclosure laws. Supporters of the change say that parents are already able to access some medical records as part of those laws and that students have certain privacy rights as part of the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. During a public hearing last month, supporters of the bill said that keeping the initiative language may create a chilling effect for LGBTQ+ students who seek mental health and medical services, students who are survivors of sexual assault, and students who may seek reproductive and sexual health care. During Wednesday's floor debate, opponents of the bill tried to add the initiative language back into the bill, but all of their proposed amendments failed. Sen. Shelly Short, R-Addy, said she understands that some students may not live in households where they feel safe telling their parents everything, but not every family is like that and this proposal puts limits on all families. 'This bill is an overarching limit,' Short said. 'We need to understand that there are so many parents in general. The state of Washington is getting inappropriately in the middle of that.' Along with these changes, Wilson's bill does add new parental rights not outlined in the initiative, including the right to language translation services for families and the right of a parent to file a complaint on behalf of their child related to harassment or bullying. Meanwhile, a different bill making its way through the House is causing a similar fight. House Bill 1296, sponsored by Rep. Monica Stonier, D-Vancouver, would establish a students' bill of rights. It includes many of the same provisions from Wilson's bill, but goes further to protect students by outlining specific rights they have, like the rights to freedom of speech and religion. It also encourages districts to prioritize every student's safety and their access to free public education and privacy 'to the fullest extent possible.' That proposal still includes the controversial 48-hour notification timeline when a child is involved in a crime, despite Republican amendments in committee to change it to 'immediately.' President Donald Trump took notice of the House bill on social media after Republicans criticized Democrats for not approving the change. Stonier told reporters on Tuesday that her bill's intent is to clear up gray areas in the initiative passed last year and to ensure all students feel safe. She criticized Republicans for their 'unprofessional and confusing' claims about the policy. 'This is just politics at its worst,' she told reporters Tuesday. 'I find it offensive.' Wilson's bill now heads to the House for further consideration while Stonier's bill awaits a vote on the House floor. It's unclear how the two bills could be consolidated by the end of the session, but Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle, said they have already alerted Gov. Bob Ferguson that they will be sending amendments to the initiative to him soon. Ferguson said Wednesday that he has not looked at the parental rights legislation yet. 'We've got our hands full on a range of issues,' he said.
