State Sen. Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, and other Senate Republicans voted against a bill introduced by Senate Democrats that would eliminate important rights from the parental-rights law approved by the Legislature last year.
Senate Bill 5181 was passed today along party lines, 30-19.
“This bill is a slap in the face of the 454,000 Washingtonians who signed the petition sheets allowing the parental rights initiative to be sent to the Legislature last year,” said Schoesler, who serves the 9th Legislative District.
“Initiative 2081 was passed unanimously by the Senate a year ago, but now my Democratic counterparts want to take a legislative chisel to it and remove parts of it that parents supported most. At a time when parents’ trust in Washington’s public-school system is lower than ever, we should not pass a bill that weakens the parental-rights initiative. But that’s what the Senate majority did today.”
SB 5181 would end or hinder parents’ access to important school-related medical information, including:
- Prior notification when medical services are offered (except in emergencies).
- Notification when medical services or medication could impact health insurance.
- Notification when school-arranged medical treatment results in follow-up care.
It also contains an “emergency clause” that would eliminate the constitutional right of voters to challenge the bill through a referendum. Democrats rejected a Republican amendment to remove the language from the bill.
“There’s no emergency here, so including an emergency clause has no purpose other than to prevent citizens from pushing back through the referendum process. If Democrats are afraid to find out what the voters think of the changes this bill makes, they should have left the law alone.”
SB 5181 now goes to the House of Representatives for further consideration.