Let’s Go Washington, a bunch that often places collectively initiatives for the Legislature, is amassing signatures for 2 new ones forward of the 2026 session.
How do Initiatives to the Legislature work?
To put a proposed regulation change in entrance of lawmakers, a person or group should draft it, then accumulate a minimum of 308,911 legitimate signatures by January 2. Once the initiative reaches the Washington Statehouse, nonetheless, that doesn’t assure motion. There are three paths ahead:
- The legislature can hear the initiative, like a standard invoice, and in the end move it with out placing the problem on a poll.
- The legislature may reject or not take any motion in any respect on the initiative, by which case, it will likely be positioned on the poll for the following state common election. In this case, it will be November 2026.
- Lawmakers can approve an alternative choice to the proposed initiative. In that case, each the unique proposal and the legislature’s permitted model are positioned on the poll, once more, on the subsequent common election.
What is the ‘Protecting Fairness in Girls’ Sports’ proposal?
IL26-638, or the “Protecting Fairness in Girls’ Sports” proposal, if enacted, would prohibit transgender ladies from enjoying on groups that align with their gender id. Students who need to play on a gendered sports crew should have a bodily, as already required by the state, that proves their organic intercourse.
RELATED | Proposals to ban transgender student-athletes from girls’ sports in Washington fail
“I think it’s just another example of trying to find ways to leave out, particularly our trans youth, from participating in the full range of school experiences,” Representative Monica Stonier (D-Vancouver) said.
Brian Heywood is the founder of Let’s Go Washington. He said there is no animus in this proposal; rather, he calls it an issue of fairness.
“You’re branded a bigot [for supporting this act]. If a biological male was competing in a girls’ sport five years ago, that would’ve been such a ludicrous idea,” Heywood said. “I think that there’s an enormous fairness issue, and to pretend otherwise is simply disassociating oneself from reality and from science.”
Heywood stated he believes this is a matter that Washingtonians from all around the political spectrum will get behind. Heywood stated “mediocre males” shouldn’t be in a position to “destroy girls’ records.” He factors to a track and field championship in Spokane earlier this yr.
“We’ve already seen biological males on the top of the podium taking spots away from girls. There are safety issues, there are fairness issues,” Heywood stated. “It’s really the destruction of women’s sports, and women should be allowed a space where it is only women’s sports. It’s the whole reason for Title IX.”
But Stonier factors out that it’s only a handful of younger athletes within the state who’re transgender. There are an estimated 5 to 10 transgender athletes collaborating at school sports throughout the state.
“It’s very clear to me what’s happening here. This is an anti LGBTQ, anti-everything in the way that the far right has been operating for a while,” Stonier stated.
What is the “Parents’ Bill of Rights” proposal?
IL26-001 would restore parts of the already passed “Parents’ Bill of Rights.”
Here’s a timeline of occasions:
- During the 2024 session, I-2081 was handed by the legislature, which was the unique Parents’ Bill of Rights.
- During the 2025 session, House Bill 1296 was handed and later signed into regulation. Opponents of the invoice say it claws again a lot of what was handed in 2024.
- Now, Let’s Go Washington is bringing ahead a new act to attempt and restore what they declare was stripped as half of HB 1296.
Stonier was the first sponsor of HB 1296, and she stated the declare that it utterly diminishes dad and mom’ rights is “wholly inaccurate.”
“Either [Heywood] hasn’t read the bill or he’s not interested in sticking to the facts,” Stonier stated. “Anything that goes into a school record continues to be subject to parental perusal; that has not changed.”
Stonier said instead, her bill, now law, expanded parental rights “to folks neglected of the preliminary initiative,” like immigrant dad and mom and dad and mom with college students who want lodging for studying. She stated her invoice additionally clarifies scholar rights.
“A student should have the right to a historically accurate and scientifically accurate curriculum and a learning environment where they are free from bullying and intimidation,” she said.
SEE ALSO | WA lawmakers propose changes to Parents’ Bill of Rights for gender inclusivity in schools
But Heywood said he believes the initial initiative was passed by the legislature with the intent to change it from the start.
“Part of the democratic process was they voted to implement it with a ‘wink, wink, we’ll change it in the next session when hopefully no one is looking,'” he said.
Heywood said he believes that rolling back this initiative is ignoring the will of the more than 400,000 Washington residents who signed the petition for the legislature to act on this topic in the first place. He said one point of contention is that state law allows schools to remain in compliance by notifying parents of sexual harassment between a teacher and student, for example, 48 hours later.
“I don’t know how they can, with a straight face, even pretend that this does anything,” he said.
“This 48-hour notification policy was one that was supported bi-partisanly, in both chambers, decades ago, because law enforcement weighed in on how long it would take to actually conduct an investigation to get to that point,” Stonier said. “When there is misconduct by an adult, a trusted adult in a school setting, and it is confirmed that a student has been a victim of that, parents are immediately notified.”