Washington Ballot Measures Protect Girls Sports and Parental Rights
Washington state has two important measures on the ballot this November: Initiative 26-638 would protect fairness in girls sports, and Initiative 26-001 protects parental rights in education.
Initiative 638, “Protect Fairness in Girls Sports,” was placed on the ballot after Let’s Go Washington collected more than 445,000 voter signatures. The Washington Legislature had the option to pass the measure, but since legislators would not vote to keep female athletes safe, voters will now decide.
The measure will appear on the ballot with this title and description:
Initiative Measure No. IL26-638 concerns participation in athletics at K-12 schools. This measure would prohibit students it defines as “biologically male” from competing in certain school athletic activities intended for female students only. It would require verification of biological sex by students’ healthcare providers.
In support of the measure, Let’s Go Washington quotes two young Washington women who have been affected by boys in girls sports.
In 2024, Ahnaleigh Wilson came in second to a male athlete in the 1,600-meter race at the Cashmere, Washington, Junior Olympics. Frances Staudt was subjected to verbal abuse and a school district investigation after she “bullied” and “misgendered” an 18-year-old boy – by refusing to play against him in a girls basketball game.
The young ladies explained their support for Initiative 638:
Biological men are competing in girls’ sports in Washington State, and it’s destroying fairness in girls’ sports. Title IX created opportunities for women and girls to compete in sports, and those opportunities are being erased.
Advocates of boys in girls sports, such as Pro-Choice Washington, the ACLU of Washington, and the National Education Association, have contributed more than $2.1 million to the groups No Hate in WA State and Defend Washington to defeat the measure.
They claim that Initiative 638 “could force tens of thousands of Washington girls each year to undergo invasive, embarrassing, and potentially harmful genital exams just to play sports.” They also spout the nonsense that these examinations could occur “in group settings in gyms.”
Right. Doctors will examine girls in front of other students and reveal the results to the whole crowd. No HIPAA violations here!
In reality, as the ballot measure explains:
Existing Washington state law and school district policies require students to undergo a routine physical examination prior to participation in interscholastic sports, which includes documentation of the student’s sex assigned at birth.
A health care provider simply has to verify a student’s biological sex based on: “The student’s reproductive anatomy, genetic makeup, or normal endogenously produced testosterone levels.”
A simple cheek swab is all that’s needed to verify a person’s genetic makeup.
A “yes” vote safeguards girls sports.
Initiative 001 is commonly known as “Restoring the Parents’ Bill of Rights” or “Strengthen Communication Between Parents and Schools.”
The measure will appear on the ballot with this title and description:
Initiative Measure No. IL26-001 concerns parental rights relating to their children in public school. This measure would repeal amendments to a statute listing certain rights of parents and guardians of public-school children and re-enact the law as it was originally enacted by Initiative to the Legislature 2081.
Initiative 001 has a convoluted history. In 2024, Let’s Go Washington submitted almost 450,000 signatures to send Initiative 2081, the first version of The Parents’ Bill of Rights, to the Washington Legislature.
Among other things, The Parents’ Bill of Rights gave parents broader and quicker access to their students’ records, required curriculum transparency, mandated notice before medical services were given to a child, and required immediate notice after emergency treatment and if a crime was committed against a child.
The initiative passed and was signed into law.
But then, the Legislature went on to gut the new law, by passing HB 1296, which undermined local control of schools, supposedly “balanced” students’ rights with parents’ rights and actually eliminated some parents’ rights.
Citizens are battling back: Initiative 001 restores the original Parents’ Bill of Rights and rolls back the damaging effects of HB 1296.
A “yes” vote helps protect parents’ rights in Washington.
Photo from Shutterstock.
Related articles and resources:
Christians: Go Out and Vote This November
Family Policy Institute Washington
Let’s Go Washington: Initiative 001
Let’s Go Washington: Initiative 638
Paradox Institute: Sex Screening in Sports: How It Works
Washington State Citizens Fight for Parents’ Rights, Girls Sports
World Athletics Announces Testing Protocols to Keep Men Out of Women’s Athletics
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