The Olympia City Council passed two resolutions on Tuesday, Oct. 6, solidifying the city’s opposition to two citizen initiatives on the Nov. 3 ballot: IL26-001 concerning parental rights relating to their children in public school, and IL26-638 concerning participation in athletics at K-12 schools.
The City of Olympia’s opposition aligns with other cities, groups and elected officials that are rallying against the two initiatives, including Gov. Bob Ferguson, Democratic Sen. Patty Murray, the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians, the Washington State PTA, and city councils in Seattle, Tacoma, Mountlake Terrace and Shoreline.
If passed, IL26-001 would reinstate a parental bill of rights, requiring schools to provide prior notification to parents when a student seeks non-emergency medical services or mental health counseling on campus.
IL26-638, also called the “Defending Equity in Interscholastic Sports Act,” would require school districts and nonprofit organizations to "prohibit biologically male students from competing with and against female students" in sports with separate team or individual competitions.
To compete, female students would be required to submit documents from a healthcare provider verifying "the student's biological sex (based on) ... reproductive anatomy, genetic makeup, or normal endogenously produced testosterone levels."
Male students would not be subjected to the same requirement.
Both initiatives are spearheaded and bankrolled by Let’s Go Washington, a conservative political committee founded by hedge fund executive Brian Heywood.
Since he founded Let’s Go Washington in 2022, Heywood has spent at least $11 million of his own money on 20 proposals, according to reporting by The Guardian.
A third Let’s Go Washington initiative targeting Washington’s recently passed high-earners income tax, known as the “millionaire’s tax,” will also appear on the Nov. 3 ballot.
Olympia residents who attended public hearings for the City of Olympia’s resolutions on Tuesday spoke overwhelmingly against Heywood and the two initiatives impacting school-aged children.
Many said they believed both initiatives would have profound negative impacts on LGBTQ+ students, opening them up to heightened discrimination and ostracization.
“They frame themselves as being about parental rights, but in fact, they are anti-LGBTQ measures,” said Alice Rosewater, a regional field organizer for No Hate in Washington State.
The campaign exists to oppose IL26-638 and IL26-001, calling them “poorly written initiatives” that “remove common sense protections for child abuse victims and put girls at greater risk of harm.”
Other community members who spoke Tuesday believed the initiatives would disproportionately affect transgender students.
Several speakers identified as transgender themselves, and spoke about the real harm they expected youth in Olympia would face if these initiatives pass.
For IL26-001, Olympia community voiced concern that LGBTQ+ students, victims of child abuse and other vulnerable youth would be left without a way to seek confidential support from school counselors and healthcare staff.
“Studies show that there are LGBTQIA2S+ youth who may not be safe in their homes due to such issues and need the support that school staff or other trusted adults can provide,” the City of Olympia’s resolution opposing IL26-001 stated. “Studies have also shown that LGBTQIA2S+ youth who live in unsupportive homes face higher rates of depression, abuse, and homelessness.”
One public commenter, Soap Khan, relayed how, as an LGBTQ+ youth, having school be a safe space outside of the home allowed them to explore their identity and receive a quality education.
If IL26-001 passes, Khan said, “I think that many lives would be lost, likely as a result of parental treatment.”
Opponents also voiced concerns that IL26-001 would weaken parental rights by removing immediate parental notification if their student is the victim of a crime at school.
For IL26-638, Olympia community members expressed concern that the initiative will create another barrier for female students to participate in school sports, and will bar transgender students, intersex students and girls with naturally higher testosterone levels from participating entirely.
Opponents have also called the sex verification exams “invasive,” a characterization Let’s Go Washington has challenged.
Alexis Jansen, a mother of two teenagers, spoke about her own experience playing volleyball in school and her daughter’s love of track.
“Initiative 638 would take that opportunity away from kids like my daughter,” Jansen said. “If you care about safety, you should agree that we shouldn't give bullies yet another tool to abuse people with. And if you care about fairness, you should agree that we shouldn't target our most vulnerable girls with the most restrictive sports ban in the nation. And if you care at all about girls' sports, then you should agree that we shouldn't make it harder and less safe for anybody to participate.”
After hearing from the Olympia community, the present members of Olympia City Council unanimously approved both resolutions opposing IL26-001 and IL26-638.
Olympia Mayor Pro Tem Yến Huỳnh and Councilmember Dani Madrone were absent from Tuesday’s meeting and did not cast a vote for or against either resolution. Councilmember Kelly Green attended virtually.
There was no discussion amongst the council members regarding either of the resolutions during Tuesday’s meeting.
“That's for a reason. There's a lot of parameters around holding public hearings on ballot initiatives, specifically that are coming up for election,” said Olympia Mayor Dontae Payne. “So I will just say that council introduced these resolutions to oppose these initiatives, and we will let our votes speak for ourselves.”
The City of Olympia passed a resolution in 2025 establishing Olympia as a sanctuary city for members of the LGBTQ+ community.
The city has seen a recent influx of LGBTQ+ residents, specifically individuals who identify as transgender, fleeing from anti-LGBT+ legislation in states such as Kentucky.
The City of Olympia previously established itself as a sanctuary city for reproductive rights in 2022 after Roe v. Wade was overturned, and as a sanctuary city for individuals “regardless of immigration status” in 2016.
The city has stated that the sanctuary designations all stem from a commitment the city made in 1985 “to be known as a City of Peace where those who are politically persecuted can find safe haven and sanctuary.”
