‘Who’s making that decision? The school?’: Jake and Spike spar over WA parental rights initiative

A new ballot initiative that would restore Washington’s Parents’ Bill of Rights is headed to voters on Nov. 3, and Jake Skorheim and Spike O’Neill, co-hosts of “The Jake and Spike Show” on KIRO Newsradio, found themselves on opposite sides of the argument.

The initiative, IL26-001, would reinstate the framework originally passed under Initiative 2081 in 2024, which the Legislature later gutted through House Bill 1296 in 2025. The original law passed the House 82-15 and the Senate unanimously, 49-0. HB 1296 did not receive bipartisan support in either chamber.

The initiative would give parents the right to review educational materials, receive notifications about their child’s experiences at school, and opt out of certain curriculum. But the most contentious provision is the one that would require school counselors, therapists, and health professionals to disclose information a child shares at school to the child’s parents.

The Seattle Times editorial board recommended a no vote. Spike laid out the reasoning.

Spike says confidentiality protects kids in unsafe homes

Spike said the concern centers on children who don’t feel safe being open with their parents — particularly around mental health and identity.

“A child’s ability to speak to a healthcare professional comes with a certain level of anonymity and privacy,” Spike said. “It allows children to speak freely and openly and honestly with these healthcare providers or therapists regarding situations that they don’t feel comfortable with or feel that they’re able to express at home.”

He rattled off the list of organizations opposed to the initiative: the Washington State PTA, the Washington Education Association, the League of Women Voters, the ACLU, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and more than 100 healthcare providers who signed an open letter against it.

“There’s evidence and fear, and then evidence to back up the fear, that children will not be honest with their healthcare providers, will not be honest with their therapists, and it could lead to harm to a lot of kids,” Spike said.

Jake countered that the scenario Spike was describing, an abusive or hostile home, is rare.

“Which is rare,” Jake said.

“It is rare, but one’s too many, and it matters,” Spike responded.

Jake says parents, not schools, should make the call

Jake argued that in the vast majority of cases, parents have a reasonable interest in knowing what’s happening with their child at school, and the initiative simply ensures they aren’t cut out of the process.

“If a child and the school are coming to some conclusion about something that’s going to probably be a lifetime decision for those kids, whether it’s about abortion care or something like that, isn’t that something that a parent would want to know about?” Jake said. “Is it something that a kid might not want their parents to know that they want to go and pursue the idea of?

“You can also understand why a parent would say, ‘My kid is 13 and doesn’t know everything in the world, and it would be good for me as the parent and the person responsible for the long-term health and well-being of this individual, not the school, to have access to that information,'” he continued.

Jake pressed Spike on who ultimately makes the decision that a parent shouldn’t be told.

“Who’s making that decision? Is it the school that’s making the decision, and the parent’s not going to respond nicely?” Jake said.

“It’s a mental health provider,” Spike responded. “It’s someone who’s trained in the field. This is a counselor.”

“At school,” Jake replied. “Who’s making the decision that a parent doesn’t have the right to know this information?”

Spike pushes Jake on the kids who aren’t safe at home

The conversation grew more pointed when Spike raised the scenario of a child questioning their gender identity and coming home to a parent who ridicules them.

“If a kid goes to school and says, ‘I’m not sure of my gender situation. I want to talk to somebody who can help me figure these things out,’ and they come home to a parent who denies who they are, who doesn’t accept who they are, who ridicules them,” Spike said.

“Not ridicule,” Jake chimed in.

“It happens,” Spike responded. “Don’t think it doesn’t happen.”

Jake pushed back on the framing.

“Most parents who love their kids don’t make fun of their child,” Jake said. “Don’t assume that they all are making fun.”

“Can you acknowledge that the possibility exists that a parent could ridicule a kid and make fun of a kid?” Spike said. “That’s enough of a fear of this law being passed and kids being put at risk. That’s why the doctors are against it, American Association of Pediatricians is against it, PTA’s against it. These are informed groups that are against this.”

Jake questions who gets to decide what parents know

“Who knows better than parents?” Jake asked.

“Yeah, oftentimes in a situation where a parent is closed-minded, unaccepting of mental health situations,” Spike responded.

He described the worst-case outcome.

“Kid’s not welcome at home feeling like this; kid’s on the street,” Spike said.

Jake asked: “What if the parent just says, ‘Hey, I’d like to talk with you about this. I’d like to talk more in-depth about this?'”

“That’s fine,” Spike responded.

The initiative will go before voters on Nov. 3.

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to “The Jake and Spike Show” weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio 97.3