Washington Referendum 90 is a Senate bill that was listed on Washington ballots and approved on election day in early November. The bill proposes a required curriculum of comprehensive sex education, with students in grades 6-12 starting during the 2021-22 school year and students in grades K-5 beginning a year later. According to The Seattle Times, “The law makes it mandatory for all public K-12 schools to teach comprehensive sexual health,” but parents also have the choice to opt their children out of the program.
The proposed sex-ed curriculum places a greater focus on social-emotional learning for younger children and additional information on consent, STI transmission, and relationships for older children. The bill made national headlines for marking the first time in U.S. history that a sex education mandate has appeared on a statewide ballot.
One health teacher at Roosevelt, Kara Macdonald, acknowledges how important sex education is for students when it is something families often have difficulty discussing at home. “Even the best-intentioned families struggle to talk about sexual health, and it’s not a topic discussed in the home,” she said. “A few awkward weeks in health class is better than just the internet or no information at all if you aren’t getting accurate information at home.”
A total of 2,268,886 Washington voters voted in favor of Referendum 90, passing it in most counties on the western side of the state. King County, Jefferson County (which includes places like Port Townsend and Olympic National Park), and Whatcom County (which contains Bellingham and Ferndale) are the only counties to approve the referendum by 60% or more. In King County, 75% of voters were in approval. Compared to the large consensus on the western side of the state voting ‘yes,’ 23 counties (mostly in Eastern Washington) did not pass the bill while only 13 did.
Supporters of the bill say that the curriculum should be required since all students benefit from sexual health information being taught at their school. Representatives for Planned Parenthood have said that the bill shows “resounding support for comprehensive sex education…it’s really, really good news for Washington’s young people.” Macdonald also added that “based on what we know about the significance of comprehensive sex education in promoting healthy and safer decisions among young people”, the bill does seem to be a long overdue step in the right direction. As of election day on November 3, labor unions, civil rights groups, and Democratic state officials were able to raise more than $1.69 million to support their campaign and advertisements.
While various social media pages urged voters to reject the measure, claiming school districts would be forced to use a set curriculum, supporters of the bill reinforced that districts can choose from the existing curriculum or create their own, in addition to parents being able to opt their children out of the program. Opposers also argued that the material is not age-appropriate. However, supporters emphasized that the curriculum is tailored to the specific age groups of children being taught.
While a KING 5 poll of parents showed that 52% supported the referendum, there are still many parents who do not. Opponents argue that the bill “desensitizes these kids to a point where it’s oversexualizing” (KING 5), and believe the curriculum is something parents should be teaching their children at home.
Adversaries of the bill, including anti-abortion organizations and the Republican party, raised $461,000 to support their campaign as of November 3, when the bill was passed. Macdonald recalls hearing ads on the radio claiming false facts about the FLASH sex ed curriculum (developed by Public Health Seattle-King County), as part of the opposition’s attempt to defeat Referendum 90.
Despite this, supporters campaigned and fought for comprehensive sex education that includes the topics of healthy relationships and consent in Washington state’s public schools. For K-5 children, the bill curriculum centers on “social-emotional learning, with a focus on controlling emotions, understanding boundaries, and identifying a trusted adult”. The Superintendent of Public Instruction in Washington State, Chris Reykdal, said that this is a perfect opportunity to do something about the public health crisis we have at hand.
Macdonald has been teaching health classes for five years and she was surprised to note that this is the first year that parents have expressed any sort of interest in the curriculum. “I think it was because of ads and news coverage. I’m glad that parents were interested and I hope they did look over the curriculum for themselves. I was worried that they may have been misinformed from the fear-mongering ads that were claiming that kindergarten teachers were going to start teaching about sex.”
No other states have yet proposed or passed similar laws. Planned Parenthood says that “decisions about sex education are made at the state and local level — no federal laws dictate what sex education should look like or how it should be taught in schools.” Therefore, sex education laws are entirely determined by each individual state. Even in Washington, there were a lot of counties that did not approve Referendum 90, meaning students attending school in various Washington districts may have completely different sex education experiences.
The bill is being implemented in all public schools within the counties that approved the law, with Roosevelt beginning to include the curriculum starting in the academic year 2022.
When asked if Referendum 90 will make any substantial changes to Roosevelt’s current sex ed curriculum, Macdonald answered, “No, Seattle Public Schools was already using the FLASH curriculum.” She added that the curriculum continues to evolve through research, measuring outcomes, and feedback. While the bill will not drastically change Roosevelt’s sex ed curriculum, supporters hope that a comprehensive sexual education can start to address some of the problems Washington State faces and the nation as a whole.
