(The Center Square) – Two House Democrats proposed a bill on Thursday to provide excused absences upon advanced request for Washington state public school students protesting on the taxpayers’ dime.
Rep. Osman Salahuddin, D-Redmond, and Rep. Greg Nance, D-Bainbridge Island, filed House Bill 2732 as students across the state walked out of class to protest federal immigration enforcement. State law currently allows schools to treat this as an excused absence, but they can’t do much else to intervene.
Recent events have led to divided opinions on whether public schools should prevent protests or allow students to proceed. Supporters frame this as children simply exercising their First Amendment rights, but some parents are pulling their kids from class out of fear that teachers are pushing certain beliefs.
HB 2732 walks a line by requiring parental permission and prohibiting schools from organizing events.
“The civic engagement activities must be optional to course curriculum and may not be organized by the school district or supervised by school district staff,” according to the proposal filed on Thursday.
Salahuddin and Nance’s proposal does not define what constitutes “organized” or “supervised,” such as a teacher sharing protest flyers or advancing their own political beliefs, nor does it outline penalties.
The bill defines activities that warrant such excused absences as “legislative visits, organized advocacy days, convention participation, civic leadership events, and meetings with an elected official.” Districts would be mandated to provide up to one excused absence each term for these activities, if approved.
Public schools are currently limited in how they can intervene when students walk out of class to protest, beyond treating it as an unexcused absence for skipping class and directing them back inside.
The Center Square was unable to reach the bill sponsors by phone before publishing on Friday, or the two ranking Republicans on the House Education Committee.
Rep. Travis Couture, R-Allyn, who also sits on that committee, told The Center Square that HB 2732 is about Democrats sending a message.
“But you know, Democrats sometimes have their own rules that they make up to pass things,” Couture told The Center Square. “Nothing’s ever truly dead until the session is over.”
The majority proposed the bill the day of the policy cut-off, so it’s essentially dead-on-arrival, he said.
He said the absences should be unexcused, noting that public schools can already take field trips to the Legislature. HB 2732 prohibits educators from organizing these “civic engagement activities,” which could affect that forum while fostering a politically charged atmosphere back at school.
“Standing back 30,000 feet, we have some of the worst academic outcomes in 30 years in Washington State,” Couture said. “We should be focusing more on how do we improve academic outcomes in schools instead of how do we further politicize our kids so that they can protest.”
Martin Moore, president of the Federal Way City Council, posted on Facebook earlier this week, then quickly deleted it, encouraging kids to walk out of class and protest. He expressed concerns over federal immigration enforcement and called on people to join kids protesting on Thursday and Friday.
“This is NOT an opportunity to skip class. It’s an opportunity to fight for what is right,” according to a flyer he included in the post. “Walking out will mean that you are putting yourself out there, therefore COVER UP!!! Photos and videos are bound to be taken/posted so PLEASE keep your identity protected.”
The state law that HB 2732 would amend currently only allows excused absences for state-recognized search-and-rescue activities, but it’s only strongly encouraged, not mandated by the statute. HB 2732 differs from existing law in that it requires, rather than encourages, schools to grant excused absences.
The proposal would require schools to create a form for requesting these absences, provided that the authorization is signed by a parent or guardian and that the event is disclosed seven days in advance.
The bill prohibits schools from denying an excused absence for any reason other than outlined above.
“The legislature recognizes that civic activity fosters learning of the democratic process, exploration of diverse ideas, and a commitment to individual participation in one’s community,” according to the bill.
