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The City of Seattle
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A resolution expressing opposition to the passage of Initiative Measure No. IL26-001, concerning parental rights relating to their children in public school, and Initiative Measure No. IL26-638, concerning participation in athletics at K-12 schools, on the November 3, 2026, General Election Ballot.
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Let’s Go Washington is a political action committee, founded by a hedge fund multimillionaire, that sponsors ballot initiatives that seek to advance conservative and anti-progressive priorities.
Let’s Go Washington filed petitions for both Initiative Measure IL26-001, concerning parental rights relating to their children in public school, and IL26-638, concerning participation in athletics at K-12 schools, both of which will appear on the November 3, 2026, General Election Ballot.
Initiative Measure IL26-001 removes existing record protections that support students who may be the victims of domestic violence, sexual abuse, or bullying, in that it would require school counselors to break the confidence of students who have sought help from them, and would likely discourage these students from seeking out that help.
Initiative Measure IL26-001 only disallows the disclosure of sensitive information about students to parents who are under active criminal investigation for child abuse, which leaves all other students who are the victims of child abuse unprotected from the repercussions of such disclosure.
Initiative Measure IL26-001 would also require schools to “out” students who identify as LGBTQIA+, for whom their home environments may not be a safe place for them to live authentically and who may risk abuse or banishment from their households as a result of a school’s mandatory disclosure.
Initiative Measure IL26-638 would not allow the use of birth certificates to establish a student’s gender for the purposes of participating in school sports and instead would require medical sex certification as an element of all girls’ sports physicals.
Currently, sports physicals are conducted with all students remaining fully clothed. Initiative Measure IL26-638 could create a dual standard allowing boys to remain clothed for this exam but requiring girls to disrobe and, potentially, to undergo genital exams.
In Seattle, new requirements around girls’ sports physicals as a result of Initiative Measure IL26-638 would affect well over 6,000 middle-school and high-school athletes.
Girls’ participation in sports drops by approximately 45 to 55 percent between middle and high school and the invasive requirements of Initiative Measure IL26-638 are likely to be a further deterrent for them, disconnecting them from benefits that are not only physical but social and psychological.
Both Initiative Measures IL-001 and IL-638 pose risks to students’ safety, confidence, dignity, well-being, and sense of personhood, and they are inimical to the broadly shared values of Seattle residents. Therefore,
Be it resolved by the City Council of The City of Seattle, the Mayor concurring:
Section 1. The Mayor and the City Council express their opposition to the passage of Initiative Measure IL26-001, concerning parental rights relating to their children in public school, and IL26-638, concerning participation in athletics at K-12 schools, and urge Seattle voters to vote against the Initiative Measures on the November 3, 2026, General Election Ballot.
Adopted by the City Council and signed in open session in authentication of its adoption on .
President of the City Council
Signed in concurrence on .
Katie B. Wilson, Mayor
Attested on .
Lenné Dedman, City Clerk
Seal