SEATTLE — A King County judge granted a preliminary injunction Friday ahead of a legal challenge over the privacy of students in Washington versus a parent’s right to know.
The injunction is only for parts of the new Parents’ Bill of Rights that took effect on June 6, with other aspects of the law remaining part of the court challenge that will get additional court hearings.
The law is being challenged even though legislators who passed it said it does not change or alter any law that’s already been passed in Washington state.
“It simply codifies all of these exciting laws in one place,” said Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos, a Democrat representing the 37th District, during a legislative hearing on the bill.
The ACLU of Washington, Legal Voice, and QLaw Foundation filed in May, asked a court to prevent the law from taking effect, but a King County Superior Court judge denied that motion, sending it to another hearing.
The attorneys asking this time, for an injunction, had the burden of proving inconsistencies between it and existing law, plus the harm that I-2081 could cause if left in effect, as is.
The judge said they succeeded at some, but not all of those burdens.
“We’re very pleased that the court issued this preliminary injunction to stop the very harmful parts of this law from remaining effective,” said Adrien Leavitt, with the ACLU of Washington.
“In my opinion, the judge did a really good job of looking at where the law may have some implications to other issues,” said Pete Serrano, an attorney Advocating for I-2081.
The majority of the Parents’ Bill of Rights remains in effect, school districts still need to release student records to parents as requested, with the exception of mental health and medical records.
“Eroding student confidentiality is very harmful for public school students and is particularly harmful for queer and trans students who really need those safe spaces those confidential spaces in Schools to go to,” said Leavitt.
Initially started as Initiative 2081, it went through the Legislature and now grants rights to parents to inspect their child’s public school records, which may include reviewing curriculum, textbooks, academic records, and medical records.
That last category is where it gets confusing, controversial, and even contradictory because Washington state law makes medical records private to students once they turn 13.
This part is now on hold, following the preliminary injunction granted by King County Superior Court Judge Michael R. Scott.
The judge’s preliminary injunction also strikes the time limit for releasing records – reverting back to federal law which gives schools 25 days to release records, instead of ten days called for in I-2081.
“And we heard from school districts who said look we have really significant budget deficits were struggling with all of the things we have to do and that’s just too fast for us to be able to Produce records,” said Leavitt.
Even legislators who voted for the initiative in March said they may have to fine tune some of the language during their next session.
FROM MARCH | How will Washington’s new Parents Bill of Rights impact your student’s privacy?
State Superintendent Chris Reykdal sent a letter to school districts saying, “I want to be clear: This initiative did not change, reduce, or diminish student privacy rights in Washington schools that are protected by federal law.”
The Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act protect personal information that cannot be disclosed without the student’s consent.
“There is no question that students are best supported when their families are actively involved in their education, but if a student does not feel safe coming out to their family and they turn to a trusted adult at their school for support, they have a right to receive that support without fear of being outed by their school,” Reykdal wrote in the letter.
Reykdal also said that districts should not make any changes to their existing policies until additional clarity is provided by the courts.
Several districts, including Seattle and Bellevue, told KOMO News that their policies already follow existing state and federal privacy laws.
“The ultimate goal here is to continually litigate this matter to figure out whether or not the whole initiative will continue,” said Serrano.
Now that the preliminary injunction has been granted, official language spelling out the judge’s order will be drafted and everyone will be called back to court for another hearing to sort out the next steps.