Being a parent is nonstop hard work, which makes following all the news happening in city, state, and U.S. decision-making circles challenging. Here are highlights of Washington political news from the week behind us (February 3, 2025) and what’s up this week, February 10, 2025.
Standing up for gender-affirming care for kids
Washington has always stood out as a state whose progressive values have stood up to federal power. Washington Attorney General Nick Brown was at it again, this time suing the Trump administration over Trump’s Jan. 28 executive order to halt all federal funding for pediatric gender-affirming care. The edict is already impacting kids in our state. Seattle Children’s hospital is reported to already be postponing surgeries, according to the Seattle Times, who heard the news from families with kids scheduled to receive gender-affirming medical care.
In a statement Brown called Trump’s attempt to stop care “cruel and illegal.”
“This order is part of a larger political effort to strip away civil rights from entire communities. The president’s cruelty is on full display with this dehumanizing executive order, along with his disdain for the Constitution,” Brown said. “His actions are harming Washington’s youth, parents, and health care providers.”
Standing up for transgender athletes in schools
On other topics of kid gender rights and Washington political news, check out Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal’s blast of Trump’s order keeping transgender althetes out of girls’ sports.
Through this order, the president attempts to restrict transgender girls from participating in girls’ sports with their peers and withhold federal funds from school districts that do not comply with these discriminatory actions,” Rekdal said. “The order directly contradicts state law, including the Washington Law Against Discrimination, and our laws prohibiting discrimination in our public schools. Our state law prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity, and we will not back down from that.”
Holding firm on birthright citizenship
Meanwhile, a Seattle judge continues to block the president’s executive order rescinding birthright citizenship to babies born in the United States to one or more undocumented parents. U.S. District Court Judge John Coughenour granted Brown a temporary stay of the order two weeks ago, Then this week filed an injunctions against the administration for a move he said was brazenly unconstitutional.
Seattle schools levies spark controversy this year
In more Washington political news, we’ve heard a lot from parents in recent weeks as they’ve rallied in Olympia in demand of more state funding for public schools, and this week we’ll hear more. The deadline to mail your special election ballot is Feb. 11. The election decides whether or not two Seattle school levie will repsce current expiring ones.
The Seattle’s Child Editorial Board endorsed both levies (Proposition 1 and Proposition 2 on the ballot) this week, as did the League of Education Voters. Now is not the time to deny schools funding streams they desperately need. Until the state ups its funding, levies are crucial to ensuring kids needs are met. Still, I’ve heard from several parents who say they’ll be voting no on Proposition 2, the Capital levy proposal known as BEX.
Parent activist Erin MacDougall summed up that position: “I believe the investments in the last Capital levy led to the school closure disaster and I think this next Capital Levy plan lacks community voice and would be setting us toward more status quo of not repairing buildings that were wrongfully neglected and building new mega schools contributing to too much capacity.”
More on schools: Momentum for education bills builds in state legislature
The Senate bill that would create a permanent grant program for the wildly successful 9th Grade Success pilot program launched by OSPI three years ago is moving forward. This week it was approved by the Senate’s education committee and sent on to the Ways & Means Committee for financial approval. The program connects teams of teachers with academic mentors and coaches to analyze and understand student data and intervene when necessary to ensure that ninth graders have the skills they need by tenth grade to stay on track for an on-time high school graduation. Schools using the program report amazing gains in the number of on-track 9th graders — from 50 to upwards of 80 percent.
Last week, committees heard several education funding bills, although none have been voted out of committee. Arik Korman, CEO of the League of Education Voters, summed up the current state of education bills in the legislature last week this way: “Despite having to react to the ongoing actions taken by the federal administration again this week, the Washington state Legislature continues to place emphasis on protecting and educating ALL public school students. Bipartisan bills on special education services, early learning opportunities, and on post-secondary education access are moving through the process. This is a great example of how in our state, education is not a partisan issue.”
Next week, House and Senate fiscal committees will begin the hard work of determining which of the many education funding measures on the table they should move to the House or Senate floors for debate. The budget process has many weeks of debate ahead before the session ends in April.
Time for some “stress tests”
At least one King County Councilmember is focused on better understanding of how the region will be impacted if the Trump administration once again tries to freeze federal grant and loan money.
King County Councilmember Claudia Balducci motioned the council to request King County Executive Dow Constantine to do a federal funding “stress test,” that is, assess just how county programs and services would be impacted by federal funding cuts and make a plan to mitigate threats to services, especially human services agencies that serve thousands of families and kids. Balducci wants action on the motion at this Tuesday’s (Feb. 11) council meeting.
King County provides numerous programs and services for kids and families, including childcare financial assistance, early childhood support, health services, prevention and interventions services for youth, housing assistance, and more.
In the meantime, the Seattle City Council has already created a committee to look at assess potential impacts of presidential executive orders to aid in planning, as Cascade PBS reported this week.
How soon should parents be notified?
Senate Democrats in Olympia approved a few changes to Initiative 2081, which voters approved and established a “bill of rights” for parents with children in the state’s K-12 schools.
The initiative gave parents the right to review school materials like textbooks and curricula, keep kids out of assignments involving questions about sexual experiences or religious beliefs, and have access to all of their child’s medical and mental health records. While the Democrats felt their suggested changes won’t change the law, Republicans disagreed, saying they undermined voters.
The biggest sticking point? When should parents be notified if their child is involved in, or is a victim of, a crime? Under the original initiative “immediate” notification is a parent’s right. Senate Bill 5181 suggested “at the first opportunity, but in all cases within 48 hours” but Republicans said no to that amendment.
There’s still a long road to duke this question out as SB5158 heads over to the House of Representatives and as a similar bill which includes the 48-hour language, moves through the legislative process. Check out this article by Washington State Standard reporter Laurel Demkovich.
Bill to require clergy to report child abuse moves forward
The House Early Learnig and Human Services Committee voted yes on House Bill 1211, a proposal that would add clergy to the list of people who must report to law enforcement or the state Department of Children, Youth and Families if they have reasonable cause to believe that a child has suffered abuse or neglect. If the bill makes it through through the full legislature, it would remove clergy privilege to keep information shared in penitent communications confidential. They would retain the privilege to not be compelled to testify in a court case or criminal proceeding. The bill now moves on to House floor for a vote.
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Washington Political News: Fighting for schools, safety and support
Washington Political News: School funding lawsuit, gun control bills & more
