The Quaker Voice Board recognizes that we are in extraordinary times. Threats to our community are rising, and we want to respond. The role that Quaker Voice can play is with our state-level decisionmakers. They have an outstanding record of defending everyone who lives here. We want to support them in those efforts.
The Board has therefore decided to form a temporary Task Force on Human Rights. The charge to this group is to scan for state-level proposed bills or executive actions that either threaten or protect people in the state. The group is currently scanning for bills that affect LGBTQ+ rights; immigrant rights; academic, educational, or religious freedom; or are priorities for Washington racial or indigenous groups.
Additional Quaker Voice priority bills can be found at this link.
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The Task Force is currently calling attention to the bills in red for your action.
LGBTQ+ Equality
HB 1052. Clarifying a hate crime offense. Public hearing held March 13. Scheduled for executive session in the Senate Committee on Law & Justice on March 20.
HB 1296. Promoting a safe and supportive public education system. Requires schools to prioritize student safety and privacy. Establishes a statement of student rights. Establishes antiretaliation protections for public school employees supporting students in the exercise of their legal rights. This bill has passed the House and is scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education at 10:30 AM on March 20. Sign in PRO for HB 1296 before 9:30 am on March 20.
SB 5490. Body searches in local jail. Providing parameters for conducting searches of transgender and intersex individuals confined in a local jail in compliance with federal law. The bill has passed the Senate and is assigned to the House Committee on Community Safety.
SB 5577. Concerning Medicaid coverage for HIV antiviral drugs. Public hearing was held in the House Committee on Health Care & Wellness on March 14. The bill is Scheduled for executive session there on March 19.
Immigrant Rights
HB 1875. Allowing the use of paid sick leave to prepare for or participate in certain immigration proceedings. Also requires employers to accept documents verifying that use. Passed the House, on to the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee. This bill is scheduled for a public hearing in the Senate Committee on Labor & Commerce. Sign in PRO on HB 1875 before 9:30 am on March 18.
SB 5103. Expediting review of sentences when there exists a pending deportation proceeding. Speeds up petitions for pardons or clemency when there is an urgent need. Clarifies that applicants are eligible without regard to immigration status. Passed Senate, sent to House Community Safety Committee.
SB 5104. Protecting employees from coercion in the workplace based on immigration status. Passed the Senate. Hearing held in the House Labor and Workplace Committee on March 14. It is scheduled for executive session there on March 21.
SB 5123. Expanding protections for certain students to promote inclusivity in public schools. Adds protected classes to the nondiscrimination provisions that apply to Washington public schools: ethnicity, homelessness, immigration or citizenship status, and neurodivergence. Separates sexual orientation, gender expression, and gender identity into three separate protected classes. Passed in the House and now scheduled for public hearing in the House Committee on Education. Sign in PRO for SB 5123 before 12:30 pm on March 17.
Respecting differences in abilities
SB 5263. Concerning special education funding. The bill has passed the Senate and is scheduled for public hearing in the House Committee on Appropriations. Sign in PRO for 5263 before 3 pm on March 19.
Protecting Democracy, Free Speech, and Privacy
SB 5179. Establishing a complaint process to address noncompliance with certain state education laws. Sets up a process to investigate and address complaints alleging willful noncompliance with state laws concerning civil rights, including harassment, intimidation, and bullying. This bill has passed in the Senate and is on its way to the House in the Education Committee.
ESSB 5181. Amending the Parents Rights Initiative to bring it into alignment with existing law. This bill addresses a number of places where the Parents Right Initiative was not consistent with existing law or policy. These changes protect student privacy and safety and help parents defend their student’s educational rights. This bill has already passed the Senate and is waiting to be scheduled for a hearing in the House Committee on Education.
SSB 5436. Prohibiting interference with Access to a Place of Worship. Creates crimes related to interference with places of worship. provides civil remedies for person aggrieved by acts which interfere with places of worship. Passed the Senate, referred to Community Safety Committee in the House.
SB 5632. Protecting the confidentiality of records and information that may be relevant to another state’s enforcement of its laws. This bill has passed the Senate and is assigned to the House Committee on Civil Rights and Judiciary.
Supporting indigenous communities/ dismantling structural racism
HB 1540. Expanding eligibility for the students experiencing homelessness and foster youth program to an accredited tribal college. HB 1540 has already passed the House and was also passed by the Senate Committee on Higher Education and Workforce Development on March 13. It goes now to the Senate Ways and Means Committee. SB 5304, the companion bill, is on hold since the House bill is moving forward.
HB 1696. Modifying the covenant homeownership program. This bill passed the House and is now Scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Committee on Housing on March 19. Sign in PRO for HB 1696 before 12:30 pm on March 19. Please use your Quaker Voice affiliation to let the House Black Caucus know about our support for this bill.
SB 5374. Including tribal representation in certain transportation activities. Requires coordination with affected tribal governments to assess impact of plans on tribal areas. Adds tribal representative to a related Council and sets up a program to help tribes implement traffic safety strategies. This bill passed in the Senate and now goes to the House for a policy hearing in the Local Government Committee.
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Our stories
If you have stories to share related to human rights protection or abuse in the state of Washington, please send them to . We will only post them anonymously.