Washington Democrats Vote Against Notifying Parents of Student Sexual Assaults [WATCH]

Washington Governor Bob Ferguson on Tuesday signed House Bill 1296 into law, repealing and replacing key elements of Initiative 2081, a parental rights measure backed by more than 454,000 state voters just one year ago.

HB 1296, introduced and passed by the Democrat-controlled Legislature, makes significant changes to the original initiative, which guaranteed 15 rights to parents of public school students. These rights included notification about academic performance, medical care, school safety issues, and law enforcement matters involving their children, along with access to educational and medical records.

Opponents say the new legislation removes or weakens many of these protections.

Among the most contentious provisions of HB 1296:

• Schools are now allowed to delay parental notification when incidents involving students occur.
• Parents no longer have guaranteed access to their children’s medical and mental health records.
• There is no longer a requirement for schools to immediately notify parents when students receive medical services from school staff or government employees.
• The bill permits schools to delay notifying parents by up to two days if their child is the victim of a crime or sexual assault while on school property.
• Parents seeking legal remedies when their rights under the original initiative are violated face new procedural hurdles.
• The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) has been granted expanded authority to enforce compliance, including the power to sanction school districts.

The measure passed strictly along party lines, with every Republican legislator opposing the bill.