Parental Rights Under Attack AGAIN!
HB1296 by Representatives Stonier and Macri
Hey SMF’ers! Seventeen days into the new year Olympia “progressives” keep looking to destroy real progress. Today, we highlight a Bill that was introduced that is a direct dismantling of Initiative-2081, the Parental Bill of Rights. You may recall that I-2081 was drafted and overwhelmingly approved by The People as an Initiative to the legislature. The Democrats were aware of the popularity of this Initiative, so they passed it with little opposition: an 82-15 vote in the House and a unanimous 49-0 vote in the Senate.1 Of course, we knew that this was the Democrats’ play, but it’s still sad to see it happen so quickly.
Fast forward to 2025, and that same legislature is seeking to pass Bills to erase YOUR VOICE! Today, we’re talking about House Bill 1296, but please note that that there’s a companion Senate Bill, SB 5181 that guts the Parent’s Bill of Rights without an emergency clause (meaning, if passed, it won’t go into immediate effect, rather, it will take at least 90 days from the date of signing unless otherwise specified) and without strengthening the state Superintendent’s sanction authority.
HB 1296 and SB 5181 both reiterate that “parents are the primary stakeholders in their children's upbringing; parental involvement is a significant factor in increasing student achievement; and access to student information encourages greater parental involvement,” but the remainder of each Bill undermines those rights. In short, they undermine YOUR VOICE, YOUR RIGHTS, and YOUR PRINCIPLES.
Today, we will focus on HB 1296: “AN ACT Relating to promoting a safe and supportive public education system through student rights, parental and guardian rights, employee protections, and requirements for state and local education entities; amending RCW 28A.642.080, 28A.642.020, and 28A.605.005; adding new sections to chapter 28A.230 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 28A.400 RCW; creating new sections; and declaring an emergency.”
What could go wrong with such an emergency declaration? In typical Olympia fashion, the Bill is clearly not aimed at providing a “safe and supportive public education system” for all. Rather, it’s a Bill that will “protect” the few children who seek and receive medical and mental-health services without their parents’ knowledge or consent. To be clear, the intent is clearly to ensure that these kids’ records do not end up in the hands of their parents.
The Bill also requires School districts to implement new policies and procedures, written by the Superintendent of Public Instruction, around “privacy rights of minors; and the licensure or other professional requirements for school district employment classifications, if any, related to protecting student privacy.” The failure to meet these new policies and procedures: OSPI issued sanctions (See screenshot of Bill below). Finally, each school district must designate a watch dog to ensure compliance of the “policies and procedures relating to gender inclusive schools.” In short, this Bill absolutely empowers the Office of Superintendent for Public Instruction to hammer any district that fails to conform to these new “inclusivity” standards.
What “Protections” are We Talking About Here?
The Bill “Incorporate[s] the office of the superintendent of public instruction's rules and guidelines developed under RCW 28A.642.020 to eliminate discrimination in public schools on the basis of gender expression and gender identity; address the unique challenges and needs faced by transgender students and gender-expansive students in public schools; and describe the application of the model policy and procedure prohibiting harassment, intimidation, and bullying required under RCW 28A.600.477 to transgender students and gender-expansive students.” The Bill’s sponsors, Representatives Stonier and Macri seem to equate “discrimination” with children not receiving medical procedures and other medical/mental services by the school district related to their gender identity without their parents’ knowledge or consent.
The Bill further protects “promotional materials that incorporate the statement of student rights” created by the law. Such materials exist to promote students rights and incorporate mandatory language found in the Bill that address students’ rights. In short, the Bill requires the schools to adopt at the expense of your right to protect your children from materials, teaching and extracurricular activities that are in opposition to your belief system.
Section Three of the Bill starts on page 8 and addresses the Parental and Legal Guardians’ rights – which are limited.
Right to enroll your child in the public school system.
Access their child’s classroom and school sponsored activities in order to observe class procedure, teaching material, and class conduct as provided in RCW 28A.605.020. You would not have access to curriculum, textbooks or supplemental materials.
Inspect and review the education records of their child within a reasonable period of time, but not more than 45 days, of submitting a request in accordance with the federal family educational rights and privacy act and RCW 28A.605.030.
You do not have to appear in person to request records.
You can receive educational and academic records including grades, transcripts, assessments, career and college counseling, disciplinary records, and records of absences, as well as screening for any learning challenges or academic giftings.
You may opt your child out of comprehensive sexual health education.
Below is a list of items that were protected under the Parents’ Bill of Rights, which are no longer rights under HB 1296 and SB 5181:
That last sentence reads “To receive assurance their child’s public school will not discriminate against their child based upon the sincerely held religious beliefs of the child’s family.”(Page 10, Lines 38 - 39) Just to make that clear: that sentence removes the protection against discrimination of a child for his/her firmly held religious beliefs!!!
The Bill continues that you can only opt your child out of surveys, not assignments, questionnaires, role-playing activities, recordings of their child, or other student engagements that include questions about a very narrow set of topics. For example, you can opt your child out of a survey about political beliefs of the child or family, but the legislature is looking to remove the sentence that “allows” you to opt out of surveys about your “child’s sexual experiences or attractions.” We encourage you to read all 15 pages of the Bill, uploaded below.
In the final piece of “legislative wonder” this bill lays out protection from retaliation for the school district employees who implement the rules laid out.
School district employees and directors may not take an adverse employment action against any employee of the school district for: (a) Supporting students in the exercise of their legal rights, including their right to a learning environment with historically and scientifically accurate information that: Includes the histories, contributions, and perspectives of historically marginalized and underrepresented groups as provided in RCW 28A.345.130; and provides students with an appreciation for the contributions and perspectives of diverse, global cultures; or (b) Performing work in a manner consistent with RCW 28A.642.080, 24 28A.642.020, and 28A.605.005, and sections 101, 201, and 202 of this act.
This bill should be gravely concerning to all parents in Washington state, as these Representatives feel the need to keep parents out of the loop and “protect” certain ideologies and the services provided around those ideologies. More importantly, they’re simply writing We, the Parents, out of our children’s lives and replacing us with the educational system. It is clear that these rules are not in the best interest of children or the family unit, as their aim is that parents are kept out of life-altering decisions and mind-altering instruction that may be in opposition to their beliefs about how their own child should be raised.
SMF Remains Vigilant in Protecting Your Rights
Back to what got us here: SMF is preparing for our hearing on the Parents’ Bill of Rights (on I-2081, the Bill that passed last year) on January 24, 2025, we want to ensure you that we’re standing for your rights to protect our children. We are here to ensure that YOU remain the deciding factor in raising your children.
Take Action
Get loud and make your voice heard on this bill. Use the links below to comment on both of these bills:
Silent Majority Foundation is dedicated to safeguarding essential Parental and Familial rights. We’re seeking to ensure that parents remain the primary decision-makers in their children's lives, particularly concerning healthcare. With numerous stories and lawsuits emerging about children as young as 10 undergoing transitions without parental awareness or consent, SMF continues to protect your sacred rights as parents and guardians. But, we need your help! We need it now, more than ever, to allow us to keep fighting. We need it in two ways: (1) Please donate NOW by clicking on the link; (2) Share our message with your friends and family and challenge them to donate today!
We can’t continue to do this legal work without your support! From the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU!!!!