Why is this former Sheriff is voting no on I-001?
By John Lovick represents the 44th district in the Washington State Senate, served as a state trooper for thirty-one years, in the US Coast Guard for thirteen years, and has previously served as Snohomish County Sheriff, Snohomish County Executive, and as a state representative.
As a retired Washington State Patrol officer, and as a former Snohomish County Sheriff, I feel a responsibility to help voters understand the dangers posed by a ballot initiative cloaked in the guise of “parents rights.” School counselors, domestic violence prevention advocates, and law enforcement officers oppose Initiative 001 because it could put vulnerable children who’ve suffered abuse, violence, sexual assault, or neglect at risk of greater harm by their abusers.
It’s unclear who, if anyone, mega-millionaire Brian Heywood consulted when drafting this initiative. It’s one of the most complex, confusing, and poorly written measures I’ve ever seen. Parents already have strong rights when it comes to their children in school, and this initiative actually weakens some parents’ rights while also putting children in danger.
What are the facts on I-001?
Because it can be difficult to know what ballot measures like I-001 actually would do, it’s critical voters get the facts. According to analysis by our State Attorney General, and other lawyers, I-001 would:
Remove parents’ rights to be immediately notified if their child is the victim or target of sexual abuse, sexual misconduct, or assault.
Remove protections for child abuse victims, including allowing abusers under investigation or charged with sexual abuse, violence, or neglect to access their victims’ private records without a subpoena, putting their victims in harms’ way.
Force schools to knowingly “out” LGBTQ+ students to abusive families, putting them at greater risk of abuse and homelessness.
Discourage students facing depression, thoughts of suicide, anxiety, sexual abuse, or addiction from seeking help from trusted school counselors, teachers, and counselors, making our teen mental health crisis even worse.
how does I-001 give child abusers access to their victims?
The vast majority (84%) of child maltreatment perpetrators are parents of the child, not strangers, according to Child Trends. Children are often afraid to report abuse, or don’t know that what is happening to them is abuse. If approved, I-001 would discourage students facing child abuse including child sexual abuse from seeking help from trusted adults at school.
Now an adult, Gabriel Neuman says I-001 would have prevented him from getting help from a school counselor as a child. Gabriel was a victim of violence and abuse at the hands of his alcoholic mother. “I relied on school nurses and counselors to support me through the trauma I experienced at home,” he says. Thankfully, he made it into a foster home during his high school years that he says saved him.
How will I-001 out LGBTQ+ youth?
This initiative, if passed, would have a particularly harmful impact on LGBTQ+ kids who would be “outed” against their will to abusive families, putting them at greater risk of beatings, harassment, or homelessness. In fact, LGBTQ+ youth experience a 120% higher rate of homelessness than their non-LGBTQ+ peers and 40% of homeless LGBTQ+ youth were kicked out of their homes by unsupportive families.
Legal analysis exposes that the initiative actually repeals a state law requiring parents’ “immediate notification” when their child is a victim of a crime, and replaces it with a much weaker, vaguer standard of notification. If a student is the victim of a serious crime at school, parents should not have to wait to find out and any delay could cause further harm to the student.
In fact, Initiative 001 is so poorly written, it actually weakens commonsense protections around protecting student records specifically from parents who have been investigated for or have been charged with a crime against their child. As legal analysis shows, Initiative 001 includes provisions for withholding some records from parents who are being investigated for crimes against their child but removes language from current law that those records also be withheld once the investigation has concluded and the parent has been charged with a crime against their child.
How will I-001 put Washingtonian students at risk?
Keeping schools a safe space for kids is not a partisan issue. That’s why The Washington State PTA, a nonpartisan organization representing parents across the state, has released a lengthy statement opposing Initiative 001, detailing why members passed a resolution opposing I-001. The Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, WA State Nurses Association and the League of Women Voters have also come out against Initiative 001. I urge voters to get the facts and reject this dangerous measure that would put thousands of vulnerable young people at greater risk of harm.
