Sen. Keith Goehner/R-Dryden/Credit: Washington State Senate
OLYMPIA… Sen. Keith Goehner, R-Dryden, stood up for parents across the 12th District and Washington on Wednesday by voting against a bill that would undermine the parents’ bill of rights created less than 10 months ago.
Senate Bill 5181 targets the parental-rights law resulting from the Legislature’s passage of Initiative 2081. It passed along party lines, 30-19, following a floor debate that saw Goehner and numerous Republican senators speak against the bill.
Goehner, a former teacher and former school board member, said he does not believe this bill “fosters good relations” between parents, teachers and school districts.
“I don’t believe it’s taking us where we need to go in having Washington schools becoming a real beacon of education,” Goehner said in the Senate chamber prior to the vote. “I think the relationships within the school environment are probably one of the most critical things to ensuring success for students.
“I don’t believe that this bill is ‘cleaning things up’,” he explained, referring to the claim by SB 5181’s sponsors that it merely fixes problems with language in the I-2081 law. “It’s creating major doubt when we should be trying to create more trust in the public school system.”
At the beginning of the 2024 session, I-2081 was submitted to the Legislature after 454,000 Washington voters signed petition sheets supporting the measure. In early March, the measure passed unanimously in the Senate and received overwhelming approval from the House. It took effect in early June.
“This bill does have a direct effect on what the voting public said. They wanted to see more transparency and stronger parental rights with their children’s education. We worked on it here in the Legislature last year and honored what the voters said.
“I’m very concerned this bill will erode the relationship parents have with their children’s teachers. Parents will feel less engaged. They need to know immediately when something has happened with their child, not when the school feels like it’s appropriate to let them know.”
If adopted by the House in its current form, SB 5181 would eliminate or weaken parents’ access to school-related medical information, including prior notification when medical services are offered (except in emergencies), notification when medical services or medication could impact health insurance, and notification when school-arranged medical treatment results in follow-up care.
SB 5181 now goes to the House of Representatives for further consideration.
The Parental Rights Bill, SB 5181, was passed by the Senate on Feb. 05, 2025.
Sen. Keith Goehner on the Senate floor on the Parental Rights SB 5181 (WATCH)
Sen. Keith Goehner following the floor debate (WATCH)
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