Skip to main content
Independent and nonpartisan. SaveYourState is a civic information resource. It is not a government website and is not affiliated with any government agency, party, or campaign.

Washington · November 3, 2026 general election · Statewide ballot measure

Initiative Measure No. IL26-001: what your vote means

Parental rights relating to their children in public school. On every Washington ballot. Official sources checked October 26, 2026.

Initiative Measure No. IL26-001 · Initiative to the Legislature

Parental rights relating to their children in public school

Heads up: voting YES on this measure repeals the 2025 changes to an existing law and restores the 2024 version. The restored version adds some rights to the list and removes others that are on it today.

Official ballot title (quoted exactly)

Initiative Measure No. IL26-001 concerns parental rights relating to their children in public school. This measure would repeal amendments to a statute listing certain rights of parents and guardians of public-school children and re-enact the law as it was originally enacted by Initiative to the Legislature 2081. Should this measure be enacted into law?

As printed in the 2026 Voters’ Pamphlet.

A YES vote means:

The Legislature’s 2025 changes to the state law listing parents’ and guardians’ rights in public schools would be undone, and the list would return to the version passed in 2024 as Initiative 2081. Some rights would be added to the list and others would be removed from it.

A NO vote means:

Current law stays as it is: the list of parents’ and guardians’ rights stays as amended by the Legislature in 2025.

What it would change

  • Who is affected: parents and guardians of public-school children, and public schools and school districts.
  • Records and materials: schools would have to provide student records within 10 business days instead of up to 45 days, could not charge for electronic copies, and could not require parents to ask in person. Parents would get added rights to notice before non-emergency medical services are offered and when a service could cost the family or lead to follow-up care.
  • Notice and opt-outs: adds topics parents can get notice of and opt their child out of, such as the child’s sexual experiences or attractions and family beliefs, morality, religion, or political affiliations.
  • Removed from the list: the right to immediate notice when a child is the alleged victim of abuse or misconduct by a school employee or contractor; the listed protections against discrimination (replaced by an assurance against discrimination based on the family’s sincerely held religious beliefs); and the bullying-complaint, enrollment, language-access, and special-education items. The Attorney General notes that many listed rights also appear elsewhere in state or federal law.
  • Taxes and fiscal impact (OFM estimate): no fiscal impact on the state and no effect on state or local revenue. School districts may have minor costs to update policies; OFM says this cost cannot be determined. If approved, the measure takes effect December 3, 2026.

Official arguments, summarized

Short neutral summaries of the arguments printed in the official voters’ pamphlet. The committees that wrote them are responsible for their content. Read the full text at the link below.

Argument for

Supporters say the measure restores parents’ access to instructional materials and records, notice of medical services, opt-outs, and notice when police question a child or a child is removed from campus, and that schools should not withhold information about students from parents by default.

Written by: Travis Reep; Alesha Perkins; Peter Rosenkranz, Superintendent, La Center School District; Tony Harris; Amy Sousa; Jess Grant

Argument against

Opponents say the measure would end the requirement that schools immediately notify parents when a child is a crime victim at school, could require release of sensitive information when a parent is under investigation, and could discourage students from seeking help from school staff.

Written by: John Lovick, State Senator; Roshelle Cleland, Washington Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault; Justin Gill, Washington State Nurses Association; Karen Crowley, League of Women Voters of Washington; Courtney Normand; Jaime Fineman-McKinney · nohateinwastate.org

Arguments and rebuttals for IL26-001, 2026 Voters’ Pamphlet (PDF)

Who supports it and who opposes it

These lists come from official campaign filings (registered committees) and public endorsements, each linked to its source. They are not complete, and SaveYourState does not endorse anyone listed. Lists checked October 30, 2026.

Who supports it

Who opposes it

Official sources

SaveYourState is independent and nonpartisan, not a government site, and does not take positions on ballot measures. This explainer describes effects only, using the official ballot title, explanatory statement, full text, and fiscal impact statement. If anything here differs from those documents, the official documents control.