Early Returns Show Washington Voters Rejecting I-001

Washington parents with school-age children should watch how the final count affects access to student records and school notices.

Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Primary Education

Early Returns Show Washington Voters Rejecting I-001

Live Poll

Should parents have more access to their child's school records and notices?

Washington voters were trending against Initiative 001 in early election results released Tuesday night, with 53% saying no as nearly all counties reported. More votes will be counted in the coming days before the result is final.

Why it matters

I-001 would change how much access parents have to certain student records and when schools must notify parents about activities such as medical services offered to their child at school. Let's Go Washington advanced the measure to reverse Democrats' 2025 changes to a 2024 law, so the outcome determines which version of those family-facing school rules stays in place.

Early results showed 53% of voters rejecting I-001 with almost all counties reporting. The measure is one of three statewide ballot initiatives advanced by Brian Heywood's political committee.

The players

Let's Go Washington

A political committee that advanced I-001 to reverse Democrats' 2025 changes to a 2024 law on parental rights in schools.

Brian Heywood

The leader of the political committee that advanced three statewide ballot measures, including I-001.

Bob Ferguson

The Governor of Washington, who came out against I-001.

The details

I-001 would give parents the right to review more sensitive student records, more quickly and in more situations. It would also require schools to notify parents when medical services are offered to their child at school. The measure would remove a provision that protects schools from lawsuits over parental rights compliance. Let's Go Washington first collected signatures for an identical initiative in 2023, which Democrats in the Legislature passed in 2024 before revising the law in 2025.

2023: Let's Go Washington collected signatures for the identical initiative.
2024: Democrats in the Legislature passed the identical initiative.
2025: Democrats made changes that created a revised version of the law.
2026: Let's Go Washington advanced I-001 to reverse the 2025 changes.
Tuesday night (November 3, 2026): Early results showed I-001 trailing.

The Home Front

The vote revisits the 2024 Washington law on parental rights in schools, which lawmakers revised in 2025. Whether the original or the revised version stands will shape the notification and records-access rules that Washington families with school-age children live under.

If you have a child in a Washington public school, check how the current rules on record requests and medical-service notices apply to your family before the final count is certified. Keep copies of your child's school records and contact information on file so you can act quickly if the rules change.

The takeaway

Early returns show voters pushing back on changes to how schools share records and notify parents, but the final result depends on the ballots still being counted. Watch for certified results and keep your child's school contact details up to date.