Sen. Keith Goehner/R-Dryden/Credit: Washington State Senate
OLYMPIA… State Sen. Keith Goehner today raised serious concerns about the Senate majority’s support of House Bill 1296, criticizing the measure as an unwarranted expansion of state authority that would sideline parents and erode local oversight in education.
Goehner, R-Dryden, issued this statement following the Senate vote:
“This legislation shifts the balance in a way that shuts out the very people who know students best — their parents and local educators. It hands over excessive authority to Olympia bureaucrats while diminishing the role of communities in shaping their schools.
“Parents deserve transparency and involvement, not red tape and distant oversight. This bill removes essential safeguards, leaving families in the dark about what’s happening at their child’s school. That’s unacceptable.
“Keeping students safe is something we all support, but this bill overreaches in the name of safety. It replaces collaboration with compliance and could put educators in an impossible position—caught between long-standing federal education policy and newer state laws, with the threat of state enforcement – and the loss of funding – for noncompliance.
“Education should be built on trust, partnership, and respect for families. HB 1296 undercuts all of that. This is not the direction to be going if we want schools that truly serve their communities.”
For more information on Goehner’s legislative work, visit keithgoehner.src.wastateleg.org.
#