(The Center Square) – Let’s Go Washington has a Friday deadline – the day after New Year’s Day – to submit nearly 309,000 valid signatures for two new legislative initiatives concerning parental rights in schools and transgender athlete participation.
The citizen-led political group plans to submit signature petitions for the two initiatives to the Secretary of State’s Office in Tumwater at 3:30 p.m. as part of the process for getting the measures to the Legislature for passage. If not passed by the Legislature, the initiatives will appear on the November ballot.
IL26-001 aims to reinstate and expand parental rights in public schools, primarily by rolling back recent legislative changes, including House Bill 1296, which modified the original parental rights law, Initiative 2081, passed by the Legislature in 2024.
IL26-638 t would bar students defined as “biologically male” from competing on athletic teams intended for female students in K-12 schools.
LGW believes it has enough valid signatures to qualify both measures for the Legislature.
Petitioners must collect 308,911 valid signatures for each measure to be certified. That number is based on a percentage of registered voters who participated in the last general election.
Assuming both measures have enough valid signatures, the Legislature can pass the initiatives as written, making them law without a public vote. If the Legislature refuses to act, the initiatives would automatically be sent to the November general election ballot. Lawmakers also have the option of passing a different measure on the same subject. In this case, both the original initiative and the alternative would be placed on the November ballot for public vote.
As reported by The Center Square, signature gatherers have faced reported harassment and vandalism, prompting several arrests.
In late November, “unDivided” podcaster Brandi Kruse reported on a secret meeting held by Washington Education Association leadership about its support for Washington Families for Freedom, a coalition of parents, teachers, students and organizations opposing the initiatives. At the gathering, members were told that WEA had voted to fund the campaign against the initiatives with a $50,000 contribution.
Whether IL26-638 requires invasive physical examinations is a matter of intense dispute between opponents and proponents.
Per its website, Washington Families for Freedom claims “girls as young as 11 could be forced into invasive physical exams of their ‘reproductive organs’ if they want to play on an after-school team.”
Supporters, including LGW, contend that these claims are mischaracterizations, arguing the initiative uses existing required sports physicals to verify sex, with some proponents describing it as a 5-second observation or, if anatomy is inconclusive, a blood test.
The text of the initiative states, “A student who elects to participate in individual or team competition activities intended for female students only governed under subsection (1) of this section shall provide, as part of the required routine sports physical examination, a health examination and consent form or other statement signed by the student’s personal health care provider that verifies the student’s biological sex, relying only on one or more of the following: The student’s reproductive anatomy, genetic makeup, or normal endogenously produced testosterone levels.”
As for the parental rights initiative, Washington Families for Freedom claims teachers and school counselors “would be required to ‘out’ LGBTQ+ students to unsupportive families, putting kids at greater risk of abuse, mental health issues, and even homelessness.”
The measure indicates that it would restore RCW 28A.605.005 as it was initially enacted by Initiative 2081 to the Legislature in 2024.
“The re-enacted law would list certain rights of parents and guardians of public-school children, including rights to review materials and student records, receive certain notifications and opt students out of certain activities,” LGW says on its website.
In a Friday news release emailed to The Center Square, Washington Families for Freedom warned about the initiatives being submitted Friday, writing they “could increase abuse and safety risks for some of our state’s most vulnerable students, including LGBTQ+ students, and students seeking mental health support at school.”
The Center Square inquired if the group knew of any planned protests at Friday’s even in Tumwater and was told via email that “we’re not aware of any.”
Other top donors to Washington Families for Freedom include SEIU 775 Ballot Fund, ACLU of Washington, Gender Justice League, and Pro-Choice Washington.
