SOUTH WHIDBEY: School District joins lawsuit over parents’ rights law

Jessie Stensland reports from the South Whidbey School District for the South Whidbey Record.

The South Whidbey School District joined an ACLU lawsuit against the state which argues that the “Parents’ Bill of Rights” violates the state constitution because it doesn’t disclose contradictions with existing laws.

The ACLU and others raised concerns about Initiative 2081, passed by the state Legislature, claiming it contains vague language that changes state laws by limiting the privacy right of students, which would be particularly harmful to LGBTQ+ children, youth of color and victims of sexual violence.

The ACLU of Washington, Legal Voice and QLaw — a legal advocacy foundation for LGBTQ+ people — filed the lawsuit on behalf of 10 plaintiffs. South Whidbey School District is the only school district directly named as a plaintiff, although other districts passed resolutions voicing concerns about the law.

They Said It

“Through vague and broad language, the initiative amends, contradicts and runs afoul of numerous existing laws that protect students’ privacy rights and laws that are intended to ensure inclusion, student safety and well-being,” the ACLU reported.

“Silent Majority Foundation stands with the parent-voters of Washington who demanded more transparency regarding their children’s education,” Pete Serrana, general counsel for the group [which filed a motion to intervene in the lawsuit in support of the initiative], said in a statement. “No entity, not the state, no political party and no special interest group has the right to stand in the place of the parents, and SMF is here to ensure it stays that way.”

“Initiative 2081 is a forced outing law that will harm LGBTQ+ students if implemented in our schools,” said Denise Diskin, attorney for QLaw Foundation. “LGBTQ+ students seek out safe and trusted school staff when they don’t have a supportive home, and the affirmation they receive can be life-saving. I-2081 undercuts this and other vital resources at a time when youth need support the most.”

Erin Lovell, executive director of the Legal Counsel for Youth and Children, said I-2081 rests on the assumption that all homes are safe “and that is sadly not the case.” Julia Marks, an attorney for Legal Voice, echoed the sentiment, saying that the initiative is intentionally harmful to the most vulnerable students.

“From its vague language to its misleading framing,” she said, “it is a dangerous bill that targets students who need confidential support — from queer youth to youth survivors of sexual violence, to youth who need reproductive or mental health care — and it interferes with the inclusive curricula that all our students deserve.”