Lawsuit filed against WA parental rights overhaul, claims it’s ‘unconstitutional’
One of the most hotly debated bills last session — one that addresses the rights of students and parents — is accused of being “unconstitutional” in a new lawsuit.
The lawsuit, filed Oct. 23 in Thurston County Superior Court, claims that House Bill 1296 illegally strips parents of their right to make choices and know about their kid’s welfare and education. It was brought by the Citizen Action Defense Fund, a conservative legal advocacy organization.
Among the plaintiffs: parents with students in the Olympia and Tumwater school districts and school directors. The state of Washington, Washington state Legislature, Gov. Bob Ferguson, Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and OSPI Superintendent Chris Reykdal are named as defendants.
The parental rights lawsuit is seeking a declaration that the legislation is unconstitutional, as well as an injunction against its enforcement.
HB 1296, which took immediate effect upon Ferguson’s May 20 signing, is described by critics as having “gutted” the so-called Parents’ Bill of Rights citizen initiative. Lawmakers approved Initiative 2081 in 2024, saying they would revisit it if the measure wound up contradicting other federal or state laws. That’s what they did during the 2025 legislative session — to the objection of Republicans.
Advocates have said that the Legislature’s “clean-up” bill was needed, arguing the implementation of the original citizen’s initiative would hurt marginalized groups, including youth of color and LGBTQ+ students.
The bill turned into a launching pad for multiple heated legislative debates, interwoven with discussions of diversity, equity and inclusion and gender. For example, a Republican amendment that was shot down by Dems would have barred transgender athletes from playing in girls’ sports.
The legislation, in part, eliminated language that had allowed parents to receive prior notice when their child is being offered medical services, except when emergency medical treatment is required. It also clarified certain rights, including related to the review of instructional materials and curriculum, and lengthened the time schools have to provide requested education records to no more than 45 days.
In addition, it established certain student rights and safeguards.
In the framing of the Citizen Action Defense Fund, however, the new law “forces teachers and staff to withhold information from parents about their own children’s safety and wellbeing.”
Lead plaintiff and Kennewick School Board member Gabe Galbraith said in a news release: “We’re being told not to share information that parents have a right to know.”
“That’s not education — that’s state interference in the family,” he said.
Alleged constitutional violations include:
- The right of a parent to direct the education and upbringing of their children, as recognized by both the state and U.S. constitutions.
- Free exercise of religion and religious freedom rights: CADF claims that parents are made to accept policies that clash with their faith or moral beliefs.
- The suit says the bill violates the state Constitution’s “single subject” rule that mandates legislation cover a single subject clearly laid out in its title.
- In addition, the lawsuit claims that the bill runs afoul of federal law granting parents’ access to education records.
State Rep. Monica Stonier, a Vancouver Democrat who sponsored the bill, has said critics of HB 1296 are spreading inaccuracies of what happens in public schools to stoke fear in parents.
She said in a Friday call that lawmakers understand there’s a right to and from religion in the U.S. Family values exist, she said — but those rights don’t go “beyond that individual in a way that can impose” those beliefs on others.
“We also have anti-discrimination laws in this country and in this state. Those are to be upheld as well,” she said. “So I think we’re going to see how the courts decide they want to apply the law to … the challenges that are being brought.”
Stonier said people calling themselves parental rights advocates operate as though students don’t have their own rights to scientifically and historically accurate curriculum in school. And nothing in the bill precludes parents from having access to academic records as they existed before, she said.
Reached for comment, an OSPI spokesperson said the office is reviewing the complaint.
“OSPI is charged with implementing, upholding, and enforcing the law and will continue to do so unless or until the law changes,” the spokesperson said.
This isn’t the only hurdle thrown before HB 1296. Conservative political group Let’s Go Washington is gathering signatures for an initiative that would “undo” the law; the group also was behind the original citizen initiative.
A spokesperson for the Washington state Office of the Attorney General said their office “is still in the process of reviewing this filing. Our attorneys will work with their state agency clients to respond in court.”
This story was originally published October 27, 2025 at 5:01 AM.
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