The House Education Committee held a public hearing on Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5181 on Monday, during which proponents and opponents presented their respective arguments for and against the contentious measure.

ESSB 5181 seeks to integrate voter-approved Initiative 2081, dubbed the Parents’ Bill of Rights, with existing state law. Critics argue that it essentially shreds I-2081. The bill passed the Senate on a party-line vote of 30-19 on February 5 and will now be considered by the House of Representatives.

Bill sponsor Claire Wilson, D-Federal Way, told the committee that enacting the bill is vital to resolve misunderstanding surrounding the implementation of I-2081, which voters approved in November. I-2081 requires schools to notify parents about their children’s mental health and medical decisions, as well as gender-specific therapy or medical care.

“When we passed the parents’ rights initiative last year, we said from day one, if needed, we would come back and make changes,” according to Wilson. “Changes are needed because poorly written provisions in the initiative caused confusion.”

Opponents of the measure claim that school districts across Washington were only confused when State Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal issued letters instructing them not to comply with I-2081 due to concerns with state and federal student privacy regulations.

“The title of the bill says it’s ‘An act related to amending the parents’ rights initiative to bring it into existing law,'” said Rep. Travis Couture, R-Allyn. “The parents’ rights initiative is existing law, so how could the underlying bill actually amend it and be in order with the title?”

Nicole Kern of Planned Parenthood argued in favor of the bill, stating that preserving student privacy is critical.

“Parents would still be notified of most health care decisions, except in very limited areas around reproductive care and mental health,” she told me.

Pierce County Pastor Eric Lundberg was the final person to testify against the bill.

“This bill has crossed a major moral line,” the politician stated. “More and more parents in our state are coming to the realization that we do not need state-run schools to educate our children.”

More than 6,000 individuals weighed in on the bill online, with 1,203 voting “pro,” and 4,951 voting “con.”

Following the hearing, Rep. Matt Marshall, R-Eatonville, told The Center Square that bringing up title issues with ESSB 5181 is now on the record, and Republicans are certain that if it becomes law, it will not stand up in court because I-2081 already exists.