Lawsuit seeks to block Washington parental rights law, which critics call a “forced out” measure

SEATTLE– A school district, a nurse and civil rights and youth services organizations filed a lawsuit Thursday to block a new Washington state parental rights law that critics describe as a “forced exit” measure.

A conservative mega-donor supported the law, which is expected to take effect in June. The Democratic-led Legislature overwhelmingly approved it, with progressive lawmakers wanting to keep it off the fall vote while calculating that the courts would likely block it.

Known as Initiative 2081, the law requires schools to notify parents in advance of medical services offered to their children, except in emergencies, and of school-arranged medical treatment resulting in follow-up care beyond normal hours. Gives parents the right to review their children’s medical and counseling records and expands the instances in which parents can choose to exclude their children from sex education.

This can put students at risk who come to school clinics seeking access to contraception, referral to reproductive services, counseling related to their gender identity or sexual orientation, or treatment or support for sexual assault or domestic violence without their knowledge. parents, say critics.

The fight is the latest iteration of a long-running national battle over how much say parents have in their children’s schooling. Many parents have joined a conservative movement that is pushing states to give them more oversight of schools, including over library books and course materials, the use of school bathrooms by transgender students, and the teaching of topics related to race, sexual orientation and gender identity.

Most of the rights that Initiative 2081 gave to parents were already covered by state or federal laws, but in some cases it expanded them.

Minors do not need parental permission to have an abortion in Washington, and state law gives those over 14 the right to be tested or treated for sexually transmitted diseases without parental consent. People ages 13 and older are entitled to outpatient behavioral health treatment.

“Initiative 2081 is a forced exit law that will harm LGBTQ+ students if implemented in our schools,” said Denise Diskin, an attorney at the QLaw Foundation, in a written statement. “LGBTQ+ students look to safe, trustworthy school staff when they don’t have a supportive home, and the affirmation they receive can save lives.”

Brian Heywood, a conservative hedge fund manager who funds the political action committee Let’s Go Washington, said the lawsuit seeks to “trample on parental rights.” The measure, he said, was not designed to give parents veto power over their children’s decision to access medical advice or treatment: “It’s just saying they have a right to know.”

“The lawsuit is a frivolous but unsurprising attempt to legislate through judicial processes rather than through the democratic process,” he said.

He also noted that schools would not be required to turn over medical records to parents who are under investigation for child abuse or neglect.

In Washington, citizen initiatives that gather enough signatures can be forwarded to the Legislature. Lawmakers can then approve them, let voters decide, or offer them an alternative measure. Heywood’s group has promoted six initiatives this year, including some that would repeal the state’s capital gains tax and its climate law, which established a “cap and invest” carbon market.

Democrats in the Legislature passed three of Heywood’s measures, giving themselves a better chance to focus on defeating the three they found most objectionable at the ballot box this fall.

Those who challenge the law oppose it on the merits. But one of his lawyers, Adrien Leavitt of the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington, said the heart of the case lies in a procedural issue. The Washington Constitution requires that new laws not revise or repeal old laws without explicitly stating so, but Leavitt said this initiative does so in several cases.

For example, state law guarantees the privacy of medical records of young people allowed to receive care without parental consent. The measure would give parents the right to be notified before their child receives care and the ability to review school medical records, Leavitt said, but does not specifically say it changes existing privacy law.

One of the plaintiffs, the South Whidbey School District on Whidbey Island north of Seattle, said in a resolution adopted by the school board on Wednesday that the law “negatively affects the rights of young people in the state of Washington, including LGBTQ+ youth , young people of color, young survivors of sexual and domestic violence, and young people seeking reproductive health care and gender-affirming care.”

Others who filed suit in King County Superior Court include an unidentified Seattle father of a non-binary child; Kari Lombard, psychiatric nurse and former West Seattle High School nurse; and several organizations dedicated to the rights of LGBTQ+ or young people.