Democrats in WA Legislature shift approach to parental and students' rights bills
A tense debate over the rights of public school students and their parents took another twist in the Washington Legislature on Thursday.
Democrats on a Senate committee stripped a House bill of provisions dealing with parental rights, while leaving parts covering students’ rights. A Senate-approved bill on parental rights is still pending in the House, setting up a situation where the two related sets of issues are on track to be handled with separate pieces of legislation.
The Senate Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee passed the amended version of House Bill 1296 on a party-line vote.
Sen. Claire Wilson, D-Auburn, put forward the amendment that removed the language about parental rights, and said it was part of a strategy to keep the bills moving forward to address some of the issues involved before the session ends on April 27.
https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2025/03/28/democrats-in-wa-legislature-shift-approach-to-parental-and-students-rights-bills/