The Seattle Public Schools board of directors voted Monday evening to allow the district to take legal action against Initiative 638, which bans transgender girls from competing in girls school sports.
Washington voters this week approved I-638 by a comfortable margin, 56% to 44%. That vote came even as two other conservative-backed initiatives failed — including a proposed repeal of the millionaires tax" — and as Republicans lost several seats in the state Legislature.
Speaking before the vote during a special meeting to discuss the issue, school board director Joe Mizrahi laid out his concerns with the initiative: Washington has existing laws to protect student privacy and discrimination, and to guarantee equal protection and access to opportunities in education.
“And Initiative 638 did not repeal any of those laws, so all those laws still exist,” he said. “And right now, I don’t see how we can implement the requirements of Initiative 638 without violating those other laws and constitutional protections."
“Our responsibility is to ask the courts to help us understand how to meet our legal obligations, especially as the privacy and dignity of our students are at stake,” he added.
Before taking the vote, the board entered into a closed session to discuss the matter. The seven-member board then passed the resolution unanimously after brief discussion in open session, to a smattering of applause.
Supporters of I-638 had put out a flyer on social media to decry that the discussion would take place in closed session, and to show up for the meeting. The flyer, titled "638 Now," had a tagline that read "Respect the vote. No Decisions behind closed doors.
As the meeting ended, one person could be heard shouting “King County does not get to veto —” before the microphones cut out.
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