I was thrilled when Amendment 1164 was passed by the Legislature and added onto one of the pieces of legislation being considered this session that would take away parental notification of medical and mental health services involving their children and that schools knew about, offered or arranged. The right to such notification was only recently afforded in Initiative 2081, requested by hundreds of thousands of voters and passed by the Legislature in 2024. 

Trying to make a little bit of lemonade out of lemons and help parents who want to be guiding their kids through life chaging medical decisions, 1164 said, “Beginning with the 2025-26 school year, each school district must, at least once annually, publish in a handbook, maintain on its website, or provide to each student and the student's parent or legal guardian, a notice that clearly identifies any medical service, mental health counseling, or behavioral health treatment that is made available to students, whether in person or via telemedicine, without the prior consent of the student's parent or legal guardian. This requirement applies to all such services provided on property owned, leased, or otherwise controlled by a school district."

The problem for 1164 — and potentially increased knowledge in the state about what are considered minors’ private decisions — is that the amendment was incorporated into Senate Bill 5181. SB 5181 is the version of the legislation taking away parent notification rights that did not move forward. House Bill 1296 did move forward and is awaiting the governor’s signature. It does not include the amendment. 

Look. People often don’t read the fine print, especially among pages and pages they are given to read at the beginning of a new agreement, experience or school year. But with schools feeling unable to notify parents about health ongoings involving their children or face penalties, as HB 1296 outlines, schools could have at least been giving out information that let parents know about the types of medical care this state allows teens to receive without a parent’s approval or even knowledge. 

Many people are unaware that Washington state laws and practices allow people of any age to choose to have an abortion, without consent from a parent, guardian or partner. The state’s “mature minor doctrine” also enables various other medical decisions, including gender transition choices, for children 13 or older. 

During House floor debate on SB 5181, Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos, D-Seattle, pointed families to state laws regarding what minors can do without parent notification or consent — during the school day and otherwise. (Santos was trying to point out that Amendment 1164 was fine but unnecessary before it passed.) 

Pointing parents to information the state stands behind and that is already available should not be controversial and should have been included in HB 1296. I’m trying to find out why it wasn’t. I hope there’s a good reason. 

Unless HB 1296 is vetoed by the governor, parents are not going to be made aware of some of the health concerns a student has and an educator or school knows about but that a child wants to keep from parents. Students’ so-called “privacy rights” trump parent notification rights about life-changing medical decisions in Washington state. The state and its schools should at least be making an effort to let them know this. Amendment 1164 would have helped.   

Keeping parents in the dark about health concerns that schools or educators are aware of is harmful. Research consistently shows higher parental guidance leads to better mental health, stronger social skills, reduced risk-taking and higher academic achievement.

Some supporters of taking away parent notification think it is needed because some parents are abusive. That’s a legitimate worry, but our state has robust abuse laws for children in need of protection from abusive parents. Educators are required to report suspected abuse — and should. CPS and law enforcement can then step in immediately. The state legislative report on I-2081 also says, “Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, a public school must not be required to release any records or information regarding a student's medical or health records or mental health counseling records to a parent during the pendency of an investigation of child abuse or neglect conducted by any law enforcement agency or the Department of Children, Youth, and Families when the parent is the target of the investigation, unless the parent has obtained a court order.”

HB 1296’s passage and Amendment 1164’s MIA status does not help parents or concerned Washingtonians trust public schools, making it harder for educators and school funding.