Washington official certifies student parent rights initiative, sends to Legislature

(The Center Square) – The Washington Secretary of State’s Office has formally certified Initiative 2081, which would give parents of public school students the right to review educational and health material and also opt out of sexual health education.

“Parents are the primary stakeholder in raising children and the government should not insert itself into that relationship unless there is abuse,” Let’s Go Washington Founder Brian Heywood said in a statement. “I don’t care who you are or what you believe, you have a right to know what they are teaching your child and the curriculum your child is receiving, this initiative is nothing anyone would have believed was controversial even a few years ago. The overwhelming number of signatures from across the political spectrum shows that parents of all stripes expect to be involved in the lives of their children.”

Let’s Go Washington has also turned in signatures for several other initiatives that would:

• restore pre-2021 state law regarding police vehicular pursuits (already certified);
• repeal the state’s cap-and-trade program (already certified);
• allow certain people to opt out of the state’s mandatory long-term care tax;
• repeal the capital gains tax; and
• prohibit income taxes at the city and county level.