Washington voters on November 3, 2026, will decide Initiative IL26-001, an indirect initiative that would repeal the amendments the Legislature made in 2025 to the state's parental-rights statute and re-enact the law as it originally read under Initiative 2081. The Legislature did not act on the measure before the 2026 session ended on March 12, so it goes to the ballot as written, according to the Washington Office of the Attorney General.
The initiative would revert RCW 28A.605.005 to its 2024 text, removing several rights the Legislature added in HB 1296. These include the right to a public education free from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, and other protected classes; the right to file harassment and bullying complaints on behalf of a child; and language-access, enrollment, and special-education provisions. It also shortens the records-production timeline from 45 days to 10 business days and restores prior-notification requirements for medical services offered at school, including opting out of surveys and sexual-health education.
What the initiative would change
The measure re-enacts medical-service notification rights that HB 1296 removed: prior notification when medical services are offered (except emergencies), notification when medical services or medications provided could cause financial impact to insurance or copays, and notification when the school arranges medical treatment resulting in follow-up care beyond normal school hours, including monitoring for aches, medications, medical devices, and emotional care. It also broadens the survey opt-out categories beyond federal PPRA requirements, adding topics such as sexual experiences or attractions, family beliefs and morality, and any mental health or psychological problems of the child or a family member.
The initiative removes the current-law right of parents to receive immediate notification when a child is alleged to be the victim of physical or sexual abuse, misconduct, or assault by a school employee or contractor, reverting to the original 48-hour notification requirement for sexual-misconduct reports. It also removes the right to file a complaint on behalf of a child relating to harassment, intimidation, and bullying, replacing it with a narrower right to receive assurance that the school will not discriminate based on the family's sincerely held religious beliefs.
Precedent and context
The initiative follows a direct precedent in Washington. In 2024, Initiative 2081, sponsored by Let's Go Washington, was passed by the Legislature as written and created the parental-rights framework. The next year, HB 1296 amended that law, removing some notification and opt-out provisions and adding anti-discrimination and complaint-rights language. IL26-001 would revert the statute to its 2081 text. This cycle of initiative, legislative amendment, and counter-initiative is unusual but not unprecedented in Washington's indirect initiative system, according to Ballotpedia.
The measure also tracks federal law. The federal Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA), codified at 20 U.S.C. Section 1232h, already guarantees parents the right to inspect materials and opt out of surveys covering political affiliations, mental or psychological problems, sexual behavior, illegal behavior, critical appraisals of family members, privileged relationships, religious affiliations, and income. Both current state law and IL26-001 restate these federal rights, but the initiative adds state-level categories beyond PPRA, such as sexual experiences or attractions, family beliefs and morality, and mental health or psychological problems of the child or family members.
Fiscal impact and campaign finance
The official Fiscal Impact Statement, prepared by the Washington Office of Financial Management, found no fiscal impact on the state and only potential minor costs to local school districts for updating policies and procedures. The statement is an official state evaluation of fiscal effects, not a study of educational outcomes.