The Quaker Voice Board recognizes that we are in extraordinary times. Threats to our community are rising, and we want to respond. The role that Quaker Voice can play is with our state-level decisionmakers. They have an outstanding record of defending everyone who lives here. We want to support them in those efforts.
The Board has therefore decided to form a temporary Task Force on Human Rights. The charge to this group is to scan for state-level proposed bills or executive actions that either threaten or protect people in the state.
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The Task Force is currently calling attention to the following bills for your action.
HB 1296. Promoting a safe and supportive public education system. Requires schools to prioritize student safety and privacy. Establishes a statement of student rights. Establishes antiretaliation protections for public school employees supporting students in the exercise of their legal rights. Write your Representatives, asking them to support this bill when it comes to the House floor for a vote.
SB 5179. Establishing a complaint process to address noncompliance with certain state education laws. Sets up a process to investigate and address complaints alleging willful noncompliance with state laws concerning civil rights, including harassment, intimidation, and bullying. Write your Representatives, asking them to support this bill when it comes to the House floor for a vote.
The following have already passed their chambers of origin. We will let you know when these bills are coming up for hearings in their policy committees in the second chamber, so that you can sign in PRO.
HB 1540. Expanding eligibility for the students experiencing homelessness and foster youth program to an accredited tribal college. This bill has already passed the House and is waiting to be scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Committee on Higher Education and Workforce Development.
SB 5123. Expanding protections for certain students to promote inclusivity in public schools. Adds protected classes to the nondiscrimination provisions that apply to Washington public schools: ethnicity, homelessness, immigration or citizenship status, and neurodivergence. Separates sexual orientation, gender expression, and gender identity into three separate protected classes. Passed in the House on March 6. Will now go to the Senate.
ESSB 5181. Amending the Parents Rights Initiative to bring it into alignment with existing law. This bill addresses a number of places where the Parents Right Initiative was not consistent with existing law or policy. These changes protect student privacy and safety and help parents defend their student’s educational rights. This bill has already passed the Senate and is waiting to be scheduled for a hearing in the House Committee on Education.
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Our stories
If you have stories to share related to human rights protection or abuse in the state of Washington, please send them to . We will only post them anonymously.