How the Parents Rights Initiative Taught My Students About Civics

On Tuesday, May 20, Governor Ferguson signed a law that overhauls Washington’s parental rights, an initiative approved by voters in the last election. With his signature, students regained the right to privacy regarding their mental health and medical records.

The bill was one of the most contentious of the season. Democrats argued that changes were needed to align the initiative with existing laws and protect students’ privacy. Republicans argued the bill stripped away parents’ rights.

As a high school civics teacher, I always have my students select a bill to track as a class in order to learn about the legislative process. (Yes, we also watch the “School of Rock” video.) This year, they overwhelmingly voted to follow the bill that ultimately amended the Parental Rights Initiative. Following the committee meetings and debates on the issue has given my students a fascinating window into the world of lawmaking.

Voter-approved: The Parents’ Bill of Rights

In March 2024, Washington voters approved an initiative establishing a Parents’ Bill of Rights. It mostly reiterated preexisting rights, such as a parent’s right to examine curriculum, access kids’ school records, and opt a child out of lessons related to sex and personal family beliefs. There is little debate among Republicans, Democrats and teachers about this. Nearly everyone agrees that parents should be well informed about their child’s education.

The contentious part of the initiative gave parents the right to inspect “medical or health records; records of any mental health counseling; and any other student-specific files.”

The medical record bit is tricky because, depending on who you ask, it may contradict HIPAA and health care disclosure laws. Many argue that requiring medical record disclosure is unnecessary because teachers and counselors do not provide medical care. Even school nurses cannot provide medication without parental approval. (As many parents know, the sheer amount of paperwork required simply to have a lifesaving EpiPen on campus for your kid is extensive.)

Student privacy vs. parents’ rights

A parent’s right to inspect the “mental health counseling records … and any other student-specific files” is at the center of the controversy. Counselors and teachers have long been required to disclose information if a student is in danger, but other issues remain confidential. Children 13 or older have had the right to mental health treatment without parental consent in Washington since 1985.

Students often talk to school counselors about personal issues, trusting counselors will not call their parents to recap the conversation. Many teachers and lawmakers worry that if students know their parents can access records of mental health conversations, students won’t talk to counselors, thus losing access to the free mental health counseling that public schools provide.

Also debated is the “any other student-specific files,” particularly if those files relate to gender identity. Sometimes students will ask to be referred to as “she” in the classroom but haven’t discussed the matter with their parents yet, so they’ll ask a teacher to use “he” and their given name in front of family members. If that request is noted in student files, a parent could request those files against a student’s wishes.

Some are worried about compromising students’ privacy. Others believe parents have the right to know if their child requests a pronoun change at school.

This conversation is happening at the national level as well. A new California law prohibiting school districts from requiring staff to disclose information related to a student’s sexual orientation or gender identity to parents has gotten a lot of attention and criticism from President Trump. Although neither the Parental Rights Initiative nor the new law specifically states anything about sexual orientation or gender disclosure, the assumption is that the requirement to disclose student mental health records and other student-specific files could have created a privacy issue for LGBTQ+ students.

Seattle-area students react to the bill

In my senior-level American government class, students have been tracking the bill since it was filed in January of this year. In a partnership with TVW, Washington’s version of C-SPAN, which provides digital resources and unedited media coverage of our state government’s meetings and debates, my students have worked with a government insider via Zoom to discuss what is happening with the bill. They’ve watched committee hearings, witnessed public and expert testimony, read the bill, analyzed the bill reports, debated the issues in class, and have written to their representatives urging action.

My students are seniors, in their last weeks of school. As a teacher, it’s always gratifying to watch students learn, but there is something special about witnessing newly minted adults straddle the space between high school life and adulthood. Hearing their thoughts on student privacy, parental rights and the inner workings of government has provided fascinating insight into their minds.

Most of the students in my class side with Washington’s Democrats, believing that students should have privacy concerning their mental health. Most of them are horrified at the thought of school counselors calling parents to recap private conversations, even students who reported that their parents were “fine” didn’t want them to know the ins and outs of their friendship woes or relationship problems.

My students were mostly worried for their classmates. Everyone in my classroom has friends or acquaintances who go by one name/gender at school and a different one at home due to what students describe as “unsupportive parents.” Nearly everyone in my classroom has a friend or two with a shaky home life. Abusive parents, estranged family members, guardians who have kicked students out of their homes, and all manner of contentious parent-child relationships exist for students at my school, and every school. Students pointed out that school is the only safe space for some of their friends.

Gaining an appreciation for civics

Students were surprised to see their very concerns echoed in committee debates and public testimony. Often, teenagers think that their problems are personal and impossible for others to understand. But when we watched representatives in the House Education Committee debate, several lawmakers passionately brought up the very issues that students had articulated in class. My students learned that lawmakers are not all corrupt businesspeople (as they’d previously believed), but simply people who care deeply about issues that students face. After the representative for our district spoke, I paused the hearing and reminded students they’d probably have a chance to vote for or against her in 2026.

Watching public and expert testimony on the bill was also eye-opening for my students. We watched several public hearings on the bill, and students were surprised at the sheer number of everyday people who took the time to provide testimony. It was a great lesson about how they can get involved and possibly influence laws in the future. Folks commenting on the law included experts from Planned Parenthood Alliance and the Washington State Association of School Psychologists. But also commenting on the bill were parents, a trans college student and a church pastor.

Students were quick to notice that of those testifying to the House Committee, mostly women supported the bill to give students more privacy. Those opposing the bill were exclusively men. A few times, opposition was supported by Bible passages, and students were eager to discuss the role of scripture in public testimony. Some wondered about the separation of church and state and other students pointed out how religious freedom allowed its inclusion in testimony.

Although students generally agreed that they should have privacy regarding mental health conversations at school, the thought of their 13-year-old siblings having that same privacy gave them pause. One student was slightly horrified at the thought of her younger sister talking about private matters with a counselor instead of with her.

“I wonder if that’s why parents oppose the bill,” she mused to herself, realization dawning. Then she shook off the thought saying, “Ugh. I feel so old.”

How to track a bill in Washington state

Tracking bills during legislative sessions is easy thanks to TVW and a very transparent state government website. Choosing a bill to track as a family is a great way for kids to learn about the legislative process in a tangible way.

• Head to leg.wa.gov, select “Bills, meetings, and session,” then click “Go to Bills.”
• Click on the “Bills by topic” box and click the “Select a Subject” box.
• Select from the drop-down list of subjects. You’ll get a list of all the bills currently being considered on the topic.
• If you click on a bill, you’ll be able to see which lawmakers sponsored the bill and track its progress through committees, House and Senate floor votes, and the governor’s desk.
• Links to watch committee debates and public testimony are included on the bill’s page, as are options to comment on the bill, send a letter to your representatives, or provide public testimony.
• Washington state lawmakers are only in session part-time. In odd-numbered years, the legislative session is from January to April. Sessions during even-numbered years end in early March.