In the upcoming Midterm elections of 2026, Washington voters will face two ballot initiatives which affect the rights of youth and students in the state.
Initiative IL26-001, often referred to as the Parental rights Initiative is a ballot measure pushed under the guise of increasing the rights of parents, but actually threatens the rights of abused youth, and LGBTQ youth in the state. This measure would specifically repeal protections for child abuse victims, giving parents greater access to their child’s school records including medical records, counseling records and disciplinary records, even when the parent is facing criminal proceedings for a crime against the child such as abuse, sexual assault or domestic violence. It would also restore parental “opt-out” abilities to remove students from activities involving subjects such as sexuality, mental health, religion, political beliefs, and family values. For young people living with controlling or intolerant parents, these opt-outs can become a tool for informational isolation, allowing parents to extend the restrictions of the home into the classroom and cut students off from discussions, resources, and supportive environments that may help them understand their identity, recognize unhealthy family dynamics, or seek help. Along with this, the ballot measure would threaten the rights of LGBTQ youth, as I-001 could force schools, teachers, and school counselors to knowingly “out” LGBTQ+ students to abusive families, putting them at greater risk of harm from parents who are hostile to their identity.
As NYRA has documented in detail, many parents cannot be trusted to have this increased control over their children’s lives, or increased access to their children’s private records. Some children live with abusive parents. Others live with emotionally abusive or oppressive, intensely controlling parents who monitor their relationships, violate their basic privacy, isolate them from friends, punish them for their beliefs or identities, or deliberately prevent them from accessing mental-health care. Some LGBTQ+ youth live with parents who would punish, isolate, abuse, or attempt to change them if their identity became known. Some children are victims of parental medical neglect, where the very adult who legally controls their health care is refusing to obtain the treatment they need either from paranoia, or dangerous religious devotion. Initiative IL26-001 is harmful to any young person living with abusive, overbearing, or homophobic parents. Students deserve to have privacy over their lives, and control over their own decisions in schools, without being bound to their parents’ control.
Initiative IL26-638 is a similar ballot measure affecting student rights, that focuses on attacking transgender girls’ ability to play in school sports. While the bill is framed around protecting the rights of biological women to compete in fair sports in schools, it actually exposes girls to more harm. I-638 changes the law to require a “medical sex certification” as part of sports physicals for all girls, and bans parents from using birth certificates instead. This means that any girl wishing to play sports in school must undergo invasive genital exams, in order to verify their biological sex, which could be harmful and humiliating for them. Along with this, it stops parents and athletic associations from being able to independently make the decisions about how to verify biological sex, potentially forcing the invasive genital exams as the one standardized method as a barrier to female students being allowed to play sports in schools. This is a violation of the bodily autonomy of young women in Washington, and specifically discriminatory against women, as male students are exempt from the exams.
In opposition to these hateful bills, NO HATE in WA State was founded. NO HATE in WA State is a statewide advocacy coalition of parents, teachers, students, healthcare professionals, civil rights organizations, and community members dedicated to protecting Washington students from discrimination, bullying, abuse, and harassment. Formerly known as Washington Families for Freedom, the campaign includes organizations such as the ACLU of Washington, Washington Education Association, Planned Parenthood, and other groups advocating for student safety and equality. The organization argues that IL26-001 would undermine student privacy protections, potentially expose victims of parental abuse to greater danger, discourage vulnerable students from seeking mental health support, and force schools to disclose LGBTQ+ students’ identities to potentially unsupportive families. It also argues that IL26-638 would discriminate against transgender youth and potentially subject female student athletes to invasive sex-verification procedures.
According to the organization’s coalition, I-638 is opposed by the WA State Nurses Association, League of Women Voters, Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, the Seattle Times, and hundreds more, while I-001 is opposed by parents, teachers, doctors, nurses, and law enforcement officers including the WA State Coalition Against Domestic Violence, WA State Nurses Association, Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates and hundreds of others. The organization also provides extensive researcher into the harms of these bills.
Regarding I-001, the organization cites data showing that Washington recorded 117,629 reports of child abuse or neglect in 2024, alongside research indicating that LGBTQ+ youth experience disproportionately high rates of family rejection and homelessness. The organization also highlights research showing that approximately 114,000 Washington adolescents in grades 8–12 need clinical care for anxiety or depression, arguing that weakened confidentiality protections could discourage vulnerable students from seeking assistance. Additionally, it references legal analyses suggesting the initiative could weaken existing parental notification requirements for crimes committed against students and impose additional administrative costs on schools by shortening the deadline for producing records from 45 days to 10 days.
The organization also highlights a story from Gabriel Neuman, policy and advocacy director at Washington State’s LGBTQ+ and Allied Business Association (GSBA), who discusses his personal experience surviving child abuse, and how Initiative IL26-001 would harm youth in similar situations to his own. Neuman describes growing up with a physically and emotionally abusive mother who struggled with alcoholism, leaving him without a trusted adult to turn to at home. When his middle school teachers recognized that something was wrong, they connected him with a school counselor named Mr. Parrot, who provided confidential emotional support and resources for accessing therapy. Neuman credits this intervention with helping him recognize that he could seek assistance and eventually escape his abusive home environment, after which he spent his high school years in Washington’s foster care system. Drawing from his experience, he argues that IL26-001 could endanger children experiencing parental abuse by requiring schools to disclose sensitive counseling records to the very parents responsible for harming them. He explains that if his mother had been able to obtain his counselor’s notes, the resulting disclosures could have made his situation considerably worse. Neuman also raises concerns about LGBTQ+ students who might face violence, rejection, or homelessness if confidential conversations about their identities were disclosed to unsupportive families.
Regarding IL26-638, the organization highlights concerns from medical professionals that the initiative’s sex-verification requirements could subject female student athletes to unnecessary examinations or expensive genetic and hormonal testing. It cites statements from more than 100 medical professionals opposing the measure, along with established medical guidelines discouraging routine genital and pelvic examinations for adolescent girls without medical indications. The organization also references estimates that only 5–10 transgender students currently participate in Washington school sports, arguing that the initiative would impose significant requirements on a much larger population to exclude a relatively small number of athletes. Additional research cited by the coalition examines the benefits of youth sports participation, natural variations in sex characteristics and hormone levels, and existing healthcare access barriers that could make the proposed verification requirements particularly burdensome for disadvantaged students.
Going into the 2026 Midterm elections, it is important to oppose these bills in every way possible. NYRA is officially endorsing NO HATE in WA State, opposing both Initiatives I-001 and I-638. We encourage all who are reading in Washington State to vote against both of these bills on election day, as they are harmful for youth, violate student rights, empower abusive parents, and expose young people to more dangerous or harmful situations than they need to be in.
The National Youth Rights Association
If you’re interested in Youth Rights, consider volunteering with us. We are always looking for new members and would love to have you on board. If you have a personal story to share about how these ballot measures would negatively impact your life, or about a youth rights violation you’ve experienced, consider sending us an email at nyra@youthrights.org. We’d love to help get your story out to the world.
The text of NYRA Endorses NO HATE in WA State – Opposing Initiatives I-001 & I-638 © 2026 by Zane Miller is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
