Residents of Washington state will likely get a chance to vote in the November election on an initiative that would substantially expand parents' rights in public schools. Initiative IL26-001 seeks to revise and broaden the existing law known as the “Parental Bill of Rights.” If approved, it would roll back changes the state legislature made to the law last year that proponents say limited families’ influence over their children’s education.
The specific proposed changes include expanding the list of school records parents can access and giving parents the right to opt their children out of a greater number of instructional activities. Those activities could cover topics such as sexuality, religion, or mental health. In addition, schools would be required to notify parents immediately if their child is involved in the commission of a crime.
The initiative is being promoted by the conservative political group Let’s Go Washington, founded in 2023 and funded largely by businessman Brian Heyworth. The group, connected to a broader conservative movement in the state and receiving support from the Republican Party, presents itself as nonpartisan and focused on specific issues. It has already collected and submitted more than 416,000 signatures to the secretary of state’s office for verification. Heyworth has said the measure is intended to restore a simple and indisputable standard: parents are the primary stakeholders in raising their child. A preliminary check of signatures showed a high rate of valid entries.
Notably, this is the second Let’s Go Washington initiative to make the November ballot. The first, IL26-638, would prohibit transgender students from participating in girls’ sports competitions in the state’s schools. Top Democratic lawmakers in the state, including Senate majority leader Andy Billig, have already said they will not take up these initiatives in the legislature and will send them straight to voters in November. As a Democrat, Billig typically supports public funding for education but has expressed caution about some extreme measures to control curricula, balancing family involvement with professional standards.
At the same time, another fight is playing out in the state legislature over rules for placing such citizen initiatives on the ballot. A group of Democrats has proposed bills that would, among other things, ban paying signature gatherers based on the number of signatures collected and require a mandatory pre-filing collection of 1,000 signatures. Opponents of these measures call them “initiative killers.”
Not only activists but also some officials oppose tightening the rules. Secretary of State Steve Hobbs, whose office is responsible for reviewing initiative language, coordinating signature collection, and placing measures on the ballot, said he opposes the new bills because his office has already created an efficient system. He noted that the number of “frivolous initiatives” has already dropped significantly after the filing fee was raised in 2024. Hobbs, a Democrat, is obligated to perform his duties neutrally despite any personal views.
Let’s Go Washington spokesperson Halley Hertzberg cites the successful certification of the group’s two current initiatives as her primary argument. She says that fact disproves supporters of tighter rules who assert that “paid signature gatherers sacrifice quality for quantity.” Thus, the November vote will be decisive not only for the specific laws but also for the future of the initiative process itself in the state.
Based on: WA voters could revise parental ‘bill of rights’ this November