Democrats in Washington State have voted against a measure that ensures schools must notify parents when their children are sexually assaulted.
On Tuesday, Washington’s Democrat Governor Bob Ferguson signed House Bill 1296 into law.
The bill repeals and replaces key elements of Initiative 2081, a parental rights measure backed by more than 454,000 state voters just one year ago.
Under the new law, schools can now hide student sexual assaults from the parents of the victims.
BREAKING: Gov. Bob Ferguson has just signed the Democrats’ bill to gut the parental rights initiative, overturning the will of over 400,000 Washingtonians who backed Initiative 2081.
— Ari Hoffman 🎗 (@thehoffather) May 20, 2025
HB 1296 was introduced and passed by the Democrat-controlled Legislature.
The legislation makes significant changes to the original initiative.
The original measure, Initiative 2081, 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