Washington State has become the center of a growing controversy over parental rights after Gov. Bob Ferguson (D) signed House Bill 1296 into law on Tuesday.

The new legislation rolls back key provisions of Initiative 2081, a voter-approved measure passed last year, sparking strong opposition from Republican lawmakers, parent advocacy organizations, and conservative leaders across the country, according to The Post Millennial.

Initiative 2081 established 15 specific rights for parents concerning their children’s education and well-being in public schools, including timely notifications about academic performance, medical issues, safety concerns, and interactions with law enforcement. It also guaranteed parents access to their children’s educational and medical records.

However, House Bill 1296—passed by the Democratic-controlled Legislature—substantially weakens these protections.

One of the bill’s most contentious provisions permits schools to delay notifying parents about their child’s status and eliminates parental access to medical and mental health records maintained by government-employed staff within schools.

Additionally, the bill removes the requirement for schools to promptly inform parents when their child receives medical services on campus.

Additionally, HB 1296 allows government employees up to two days to notify parents if their child has been the victim of a crime or sexual assault on school property.

The law also introduces complicated legal and bureaucratic obstacles for parents attempting to assert their rights under the original initiative.

The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) is given expanded authority under the new law to sanction school districts that fail to comply with its provisions.

House Bill 1296 passed strictly along party lines, with every Republican legislator voting against it.

Rep. Travis Couture (R-Allyn), a leading critic of the bill, called it “a slap in the face to democracy” and condemned Democrats for repealing provisions of a voter-approved measure that many of them had previously supported.

“We have seen a stunning amount of sexual misconduct and sexual assaults by educators in our schools just in the last year,” he said, per TPM.

Couture had introduced an amendment that would have required immediate parental notification if a student were sexually abused by a school employee, but Democrats voted it down.

Let’s Go Washington, the citizen-led group behind the original initiative, issued strong criticism of the new law.

Serious question:

How does ANYONE—no matter how Left-wing—vote against informing parents that their child has been sexually assaulted at school?

Utter insane. https://t.co/xcjLGiawEN

— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) February 1, 2025

Speaking on The Ari Hoffman Show on Talk Radio 570 KVI, founder Brian Heywood said, “This is a direct assault on parents and a clear indictment of Governor Ferguson’s claim to be a moderate voice for Washingtonians.”

Heywood vowed, “We will do everything in our power to reverse this dismantling of the Parental Rights Bill.”