New bill allows volunteer opportunities at schools for parents with criminal records
Jan 30, 2025, 5:48 PM | Updated: Jan 31, 2025, 3:17 pm
Imagine wanting to volunteer at your child’s school, but a criminal record from years ago stands in the way. For many parents, this situation is a harsh reality. House Bill 1189 is working to change that by giving parents and guardians with past convictions a shot at helping out in schools — without the fear of being automatically shut out.
Right now, the rules are pretty strict: anyone who wants to volunteer in Washington schools, especially if they’ll be around kids or individuals with developmental disabilities, must go through a background check.
Sounds fair, right? After all, the goal is to keep students safe. But here’s the catch: if you’ve ever been convicted of a crime, that conviction could be enough to get your application rejected — no matter how much time has passed or how much you’ve turned your life around.
That’s exactly what happened to the bill’s sponsor, Representative Tarra Simmons (D-Bremerton). Simmons spent two years in prison starting in 2011 for theft, drug and firearm offenses. She later went to law school and became the state’s first formerly incarcerated lawmaker.
Her son was 10 years old when she was released and she quickly learned about the consequences of her record.
“I come home, my son is now 10, and I cannot volunteer in his school because my school automatically gives an outright ban for life,” Simmons said.
She added: “If we were in a neighboring school district, I could volunteer because they believe in people with lived experiences. There is no consistency.”
New changes for those with criminal records
Her bill hopes to create what supporters say is a more thoughtful and balanced process. Under the proposed law, school districts and other public educational organizations would be required to inform parents, grandparents and legal guardians about the option to submit proof of rehabilitation — such as an expunged record, a pardon or a certificate of rehabilitation.
If an applicant submits evidence of rehabilitation and confirms no new convictions have occurred since their record was cleared, the school cannot deny their application based solely on their past. These documents would show that the person has worked hard to make amends and move on from their mistakes.
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Support from other formerly incarcerated lawmakers
Jovan Jackson, a Nevada lawmaker who was also formerly incarcerated, spoke in favor of the bill before the Senate Law and Justice Committee, calling it a positive step for families.
“A policy that restricts formerly incarcerated parents from attending their children’s school activities is a constant reminder that we are not good enough,” Jackson said. “It forces us to relive the trauma of being separated from our families — not because of laws that we broke, but because of policies that punish us despite our rehabilitation.”
Notably, nobody testified against the bill during Monday’s hearing.
If an applicant does not have official proof of rehabilitation, the school would still evaluate the situation instead of issuing an automatic denial. They would consider how much time has passed since the last conviction, whether the conviction involved a minor and whether the applicant could still participate meaningfully without unsupervised access to children.
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More transparency in the volunteer process
Another key change HB 1189 brings is transparency. Right now, the process for approving or denying volunteers can feel unclear, with no standardized timeline or explanation for rejections.
Under this bill, schools would be required to notify applicants within five days of their decision, provide clear reasons for denial and give instructions on how to appeal a rejection to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Supporters say this would bring much-needed fairness and clarity to the process.
The committee will vote on the bill on February 6.
Matt Markovich often covers the state legislature and public policy for KIRO Newsradio. You can read more of Matt’s stories here. Follow him on X, or email him here.
