Washington Dems push to allow felons to volunteer in schools

Currently, anyone wanting to volunteer in a Washington public school must undergo a background check, which will usually flag a criminal conviction. Representative Tarra Simmons (D-Bremerton), an ex-con who served time for theft, drug, and firearm offenses, is the lead sponsor on House Bill 1189, which would require school districts to inform applicants about the option to submit proof of rehabilitation and then possibly be allowed to volunteer in a school, regardless of what crime they committed.

If the applicant submits evidence of rehabilitation and confirms that no new convictions have occurred, the district or educational institution cannot deny their application based solely on their record. If an applicant does not have proof of rehabilitation, the institution would still evaluate the candidate instead of issuing an automatic rejection, consider the time elapsed since the last conviction, whether the conviction involved a minor, and whether the applicant could still participate without unsupervised access to minors.

If the bill becomes law, educational institutions would be required to notify applicants within five days of their decision, provide an explanation in the case of a rejection, and tell the applicant how to appeal the rejection to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Some Washington school districts already allow people with criminal records to teach in public schools. The Seattle school district allowed Ian Golash to be a teacher and a department head at Chief Sealth High School despite past run-ins with the law. Golash has had multiple arrests in Oregon, including for assault, violating parole, and criminal harassment. He is currently on paid administrative leave after supporting Hamas and denying the Oct 7 atrocities on social media.

The bill is co-sponsored by State Democratic Reps. Lillian Ortiz-Self, Nicole Macri, Strom Peterson, Lauren Davis, Timm Ormsby, Monica Stonier, and Natasha Hill.

Nevada lawmaker Jovan Jackson, who is also an ex-con, testified in favor of the bill before the Senate Law and Justice Committee, which will vote on the bill on February 6.

Last week, Democrats in the Washington House of Representatives voted against an amendment to House Bill 1296, that would have required school districts to immediately notify parents if their student is the victim of sexual misconduct by a school employee. Republican Rep. Travis Couture, who proposed the amendment, posted on X, “How any sane person could deny my amendment is outrageous.”

The new legislation is an attempt by the Democratic-controlled Legislature to dismantle Initiative 2081, known as the Parental Rights Initiative. The initiative gives parents the right to review educational materials, receive notifications regarding their child’s physical and mental health, and opt out of sexual health education. Democrats have been attempting to defeat the Parents’ Bill of Rights since before the legislative session began, including fighting the legislation in court.

This article was originally published on the author's X profile.