OLYMPIA, Wash. – The ACLU brought a lawsuit in late May against a ‘Parent’s Bill of Rights’ passed by the state legislature. The Attorney General’s office, which is responsible for legally representing Washington, responded in a court filing earlier this week.
A central claim of the lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, Legal Voice and QLaw is that the ‘bill of rights’ is overly vague in a manner that could violate the healthcare privacy rights of LGBTQ+ students.
Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal seemed to affirm that concern on Wednesday by announcing that his office would not enforce the contested parts of the bill.
Ferguson’s office rebuffed those claims in a King County Superior Court filing.
“If Plaintiffs’ interpretation of [the policy] were accurate, they might have a plausible claim for injunctive relief. But it is not, and they do not,” Ferguson’s office said.
Plaintiffs, which in this case are the three civil rights groups suing the state of Washington, have a burden of showing that a law is causing or will cause injury. Ferguson argued that the organizations have failed to meet that threshold.
“Their asserted injuries are expressly speculative, claiming only that they do not know how [the policy] will be implemented, or how youth and their parents will behave once it takes effect. But to obtain an injunction the movant needs to show that actual and substantial injury will occur without an injunction, not merely that such injury could possibly occur,” Ferguson’s office said.
The temporary restraining order sought by queer advocates was turned down on Tuesday, meaning that the law went into effect today. However, given that the Reykdal will not enforce the contested elements of the bill, it is unclear how the policy’s implementation will progress.
LGBTQ+ advocates are contesting the bill in the midst of a difficult year for Pride Month organizers, who have seen several instances of anti-LGBTQ+ vandalism ahead of celebrations in Spokane.
