Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson has formally opposed Initiative IL26-001, putting the governor into a statewide campaign over whether voters should restore the 2024 version of the state’s parents’ bill of rights for public schools.
The measure will appear on the Nov. 3 general-election ballot. The attorney general’s official explanatory statement says it would repeal changes lawmakers adopted in 2025 and reenact the law as it originally passed in 2024. Ferguson announced his opposition Thursday, arguing that the proposal would remove protections in current law; supporters say it would restore timely access to information and improve communication between schools and families, according to KNKX and KUOW’s report.
What the initiative would change
The initiative’s full text would require schools to provide copies of a child’s records within 10 business days of a written request. The current statute allows up to 45 days, while requiring access within a reasonable period. The proposal also lists medical and mental-health records among the materials parents may inspect, requires prior notice when medical services are offered except in emergencies, and preserves opt-out rights for certain instruction.
The debate turns partly on the relationship between those provisions and other privacy and health laws. Ferguson and allied opponents say current rules protect confidential support for vulnerable students. Initiative sponsor Let’s Go Washington and legislative supporters say the proposal does not require schools to notify parents that a student is gay or transgender and instead restores clearer notice and records rights. A House Republican summary says the initiative would also strengthen advance notice for sensitive classroom topics and communication about discipline and safety.
The official ballot statement provides a narrower, nonpartisan description: a yes vote restores the 2024 list of parental rights; a no vote keeps the amendments enacted in 2025. It notes that many rights in both versions also exist elsewhere in state or federal law.
Costs and timing
The state Office of Financial Management estimates the measure would have no fiscal impact on state government. School districts could face minor but indeterminate costs to revise policies and procedures. If approved, the law would take effect Dec. 3 and apply prospectively.
The initiative reached the ballot after its sponsors submitted 418,666 signatures, more than the 308,911 required, and it was certified in January. Lawmakers did not enact it during the session, sending the question to voters instead. Under the state constitution, the Legislature generally could not amend a voter-approved initiative during its first two years without a two-thirds vote in each chamber.
For voters, the practical choice is therefore not whether parents have school-information rights at all. It is which statutory version should govern access deadlines, notice about medical services and the treatment of sensitive student records. The Secretary of State has posted the full ballot materials; printed voters’ pamphlets are due in early October.
