Committee hears hours-long testimony on student rights bill that would alter parental-notification rules and add OSPI enforcement duties

Chairwoman Wellman convened the Early Learning & K-12 Education Committee for a hearing on engrossed substitute House Bill 1296, which staff described as seeking to “promote a safe and supportive public education system through student rights, parental and guardian rights, employee protections, and requirements for state and local education entities.” Committee staff member Eileen Cotto briefed the committee on the bill’s main provisions and fiscal impacts.

The bill would: make it state policy that district, charter and tribal compact school policies “prioritize the protection of every student's safety, access to a free public education, and privacy to the fullest extent possible,” direct the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to develop technical assistance and enforce compliance (OSPI staff estimated $100,000 in FY2026), move existing model transgender policy requirements into statute (with a district adoption deadline of Jan. 31, 2026, and OSPI rulemaking by Dec. 31, 2025), require immediate parental notification within 48 hours when a student is alleged to be the victim of abuse or assault by a school employee, add a student “statement of rights” to civics curricula, prohibit adverse employment action for staff who support students exercising legal rights, and modify provisions of the 2024 voters’ initiative commonly referred to in testimony as Initiative 2081. The bill also includes an emergency clause to make…