Today (Sept. 17), Governor Ferguson and pro-secrets from parents advocates gathered to spread misinformation about what I-001 does. The initiative to strengthen protections for students and give parents the right to know what’s going on with their students in school was misrepresented and misconstrued so as to scare voters away from a measure that was passed with bipartisan support in 2024.
See opposition claims and facts from the initiative below.
Opposition claim: “I-001 lets abusive parents access their child’s confidential records.”
Facts: I-001 does not require schools to turn over a child’s medical, health, or mental-health counseling records while a parent is the target of an active abuse or neglect investigation unless the parent obtains a court order. That protection is written directly into I-001.
Opposition claim: “I-001 delays notifying parents when their child is the victim of a crime.”
Facts: Current law requires notification when the school receives a report alleging a crime against the child on school property, during the school day, or during a school-sponsored activity. I-001 removes those location and time restrictions and extends the provision to criminal acts committed either against or by the child. Mandatory reporting requirements and all student safety protocols remain in statute with I-001.
Opposition claim: “I-001 eliminates the requirement to notify parents when a teacher or school employee abuses a student.”
Facts: RCW 28A.320.160 independently says that after a district receives an allegation that a student was physically or sexually abused, sexually misconducted against, or assaulted by a school employee or contractor, the district must immediately notify the parents or guardians. It is not accurate to say I-001 abolishes the underlying notification requirement since the requirement already exists in state law.
Opposition claim: “I-001 will force schools to out transgender or LGBTQ+ students to their parents.”
Facts: I-001 does not contain an explicit requirement telling teachers or schools to disclose a student’s sexual orientation, gender identity, pronouns, or transgender status. What it does do is broaden the category of school records available to parents, including student-specific files, documents, and other materials maintained by a school.
Opposition claim: “I-001 eliminates protections against discrimination for LGBTQ+ students and other protected groups.”
Facts: I-001 removes the nondiscrimination provision from the parental-rights list in RCW 28A.605.005 and replaces it with language concerning discrimination based on a family’s sincerely held beliefs. I-001 does not repeal Washington’s separate school nondiscrimination laws simply by deleting the cross-reference from this section. Current RCW 28A.605.005 itself points to chapters 28A.640 and 28A.642 as the underlying nondiscrimination laws.
Opposition claim: “I-001 prevents students from getting confidential mental-health treatment.”
Facts: I-001 does not repeal Washington’s separate law allowing adolescents to request outpatient behavioral-health treatment without parental consent. RCW 71.34.530 still provides that an adolescent may request and receive outpatient treatment without parental consent; parental authorization is required for minors under 13. I-001 ensures that parents would be notified when medical or mental health treatments are provided to their student, but school counselors still have the right to provide care.
Opposition claim: “Kids who are abused or struggling will stop talking to school counselors because their parents can see everything.”
Facts: That is a prediction about student behavior, not a requirement or established outcome contained in the initiative. What can be established from the text is that I-001 broadens the definition of school records available to parents and removes the current sole-possession exception from this section.
Opposition claim: “I-001 repeals the protections adopted in HB 1296.”
Facts: The measure would undo the 2025 Legislature’s changes to RCW 28A.605.005 and reinstate the parental-rights list substantially as enacted through I-2081 in 2024. That does not mean every separate statute changed or created by the broader 2025 legislation disappears. For example, the independent employee-abuse notification requirement in RCW 28A.320.160 remains on the books unless separately amended or repealed.
Opposition claim: “Parents already have all these rights, so I-001 doesn’t actually do anything.”
Facts: I-001 makes several concrete changes. The Attorney General identifies, among others, a reduction in the records-production deadline from 45 days to 10 business days, broader access to student-specific records, no charge for electronic copies, prior notification regarding certain medical services, notification concerning medical services that could financially affect parents, and notification when schools arrange treatment requiring follow-up care outside normal school hours. It also broadens criminal-action and law-enforcement notification provisions by removing certain school-property and school-hours limitations.
Opposition claim: “I-001 destroys child-safety protections.”
Facts: I-001 does not repeal Washington’s broader child-abuse reporting and investigation system. Separate child-protection statutes remain in effect, including the independent requirement that districts immediately notify parents of reported abuse or assault by school employees or contractors.
