A ballot measure in Seattle mailboxes would cut the time schools have to hand over a child's academic, medical and mental health records from 45 days to 10 business days.
Initiative 001, on the Nov. 3 ballot, would restore the original Parents' Bill of Rights (Initiative 2081) that the Legislature passed with bipartisan support in 2024. Democratic lawmakers rewrote that law in 2025 through House Bill 1296 (HB 1296), extending the records deadline. The rewrite also removed a requirement that parents be notified before a child receives non-emergency medical services at school, as first reported by KOMO News.
The original law passed the state House 82-15 and the Senate 49-0, according to MyNorthwest. HB 1296 did not receive bipartisan support in either chamber.
When I-001 reached the Legislature this year, majority Democrats declined to hold a public hearing, sending it directly to the ballot, Seattle Red reported.
The measure would also let parents opt children out of assignments touching on sexual experiences, family beliefs, religion or political affiliations. That opt-out provision would apply across Seattle Public Schools, affecting families at schools from Ballard High School to Rainier Beach High School. Parents would gain the right to examine textbooks, curriculum and supplemental materials.
Both sides frame the fight around student safety. They disagree on what that means.
Courtney Normand, Washington state director for Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, told KOMO the initiative "removes common sense protections for students, their families, and even for our schools." Normand said the measure would not protect children whose parents are charged with crimes, arguing it strips a potential lifeline for abuse victims.
Under I-001, schools could withhold student records during a child abuse or neglect investigation. But the Seattle Times reported the initiative does not include the same language about social work records, legal guardians or criminal proceedings that current law covers. Competing legal analyses from each side's attorneys disagree on whether schools could broadly interpret the measure to cover those gaps.
Gov. Bob Ferguson called the initiative a step backward. "To me, this is an initiative that is taking away parents' rights," Ferguson said at a news conference, according to KOMO.
Let's Go Washington, the political action committee behind I-001, accused Ferguson of spreading "misinformation about what I-001 does." The group said the measure was misrepresented to scare voters away from a law that passed with bipartisan support in 2024.
Seattle School Board Director Joe Mizrahi, who joined a canvass opposing I-001 in Ravenna Park, told KOMO that rolling back protections is "incredibly dangerous for our kids in our schools."
Critics also warn the measure could force school counselors to share sensitive information with unsupportive or abusive parents, discouraging LGBTQ+ students from seeking help at school, according to the Seattle Times.
Supporters, including Let's Go Washington founder Brian Heywood and Moms for Liberty Washington, say parents are the primary stakeholders in their children's education. Substitute teacher and coach Anna Conner told KOMO she believes parents are the best people to make decisions with and for their children.
A Ballot Initiative Strategy Center poll of 800 Washington voters found just under one-third said they would approve I-001, according to the Seattle Times.
King County Elections mailed ballots Friday, Oct. 16. Drop boxes are open around the clock through Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, when they close at 8 p.m.
