“Silent Majority Foundation stands with the parent-voters of Washington who demanded more transparency regarding their children’s education. 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.”
-Pete Serrano, General Counsel
Initiative Measure 2081 established a parents’ bill of rights and added a new section to chapter 28A.605 RCW. Included in the Initiative are prior notification requirements regarding medical services offered by/through the school, law enforcement intervention, and when a child is removed from the public school campus. It is imperative that parents have access to what their kids are being taught and shown in the classroom, so the measure provided a transparency requirement allowing parents to review textbooks, curriculum and an annual school calendar, as well as providing the opportunity for parents to opt their children out of activities and/or engagements that the parent so chooses. Initiative Measure 2081 protects the rights of parents to be the primary stakeholder in their children’s upbringing, not the State.
BACKGROUND
This spring the People qualified Initiative 2081, The Parents’ Bill of Rights, to the legislature, and it was passed on March 4, 2024. The Initiative acknowledges that parents are the primary stakeholders in their children’s upbringing, that parental involvement is the single most significant factor in increasing student achievement, and access to student information encourages parental involvement and strengthens student safety.
I-2081 requires parental notification for educational and health services provided through schools including access to inspect textbooks, curriculum, and supplemental materials used in their child’s classroom, academic and disciplinary records, medical or health records, mental health counseling, vocational counseling, and records of attendance.
Legal Counsel for Youth and Children (LCYC) challenged Initiative 2081 by filing a Complaint and a Motion for Emergency Temporary Restraining Order and a Preliminary Injunction in King County seeking to stop the implementation of I-2081. The TRO was heard and DENIED on June 4, 2024.
The hearing for the Preliminary Injunction is scheduled for June 21, 2024. On that date, or before, the Court will determine whether Let’s Go Washington (LGW), Informed Choice WA (ICWA), and Representative Jim Walsh can intervene to defend I-2081 alongside the State of Washington. Since Washington courts routinely allow intervention by a law’s supporters in legal challenges to its validity, SMF believes the Court should grant the motion to intervene and allow Intervenors to defend the Initiative they worked so hard to promote and assist to passage.
Chris Reykdal, Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction, has already instructed schools to “ignore” this codified law “until additional clarity is provided on the areas where the initiative conflicts with existing state and federal law.” In directing school districts to ignore the law, Mr. Reykdal ignores that the People and the Legislature have already spoken on this matter so there is no confusion as to what IS, in fact, Washington state law.
The purpose of the intervention is to ensure that I-2081 is adequately defended, thus upholding the voice of the people of Washington state. While the Attorney General’s Office is presently defending the action, SMF will stand with Let’s Go Washington and other individuals and organizations who spent significant resources on the passage of the Parents bill of rights.
Update: On Friday, November 22, 2024, Silent Majority Foundation filed a Response to the Plaintiffs’ Motion for Summary Judgment (MSJ) in our efforts to defend/protect Initiative-2081, the Parents’ Bill of Rights. An MSJ is a motion that would terminate the case if the moving party’s motion is granted. In other words, if SMF and the State do not successfully defend against this Motion, the Plaintiffs will win the case and I-2081 will be erased from the books and your parental rights protected through I-2081 will be erased.
January 24, 2025 - Silent Majority Foundation WINS our battle to protect the Parental Bill of Rights! Watch the latest update from Pete Serrano after the hearing at the link below.
Pete Serrano shares about the attack on parental rights in Washington state.
“Your Legislature doesn’t give a f-----g s--t about your voice,” said Pete Serrano, founder and general counsel of the Silent Majority Foundation, which intervened to protect I-2081 on behalf of Let’s Go Washington, Informed Choice Washington, and One Washington, as the initiative wound its way through court.
Click the image to the left to read.
Pete Serrano shares discusses the Parental Bill of Rights with Brandi Kruse, and why Silent Majority Foundation filed a Notice of Appearance in the lawsuit Legal Counsel for Youth and Children, et al., v. State of Washington, 24-2-11540-4 SEA on behalf of Let’s Go Washington (LGW), Informed Choice of Washington (ICWA), and Representative Jim Walsh.
Click the image to the left to watch.
Attorney Austin Hatcher, lead counsel on this case, recently shed light on the challenges we face from radical organizations that aim to undermine Parental Rights. He had the opportunity to discuss this matter on the Informed Life Radio broadcast alongside our esteemed partners at Children's Health Defense, Bernadette Pajer and Bob Runnells. Click the image to the right to watch.
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