Five-second answer

Claim we investigated

Louisiana's version of I-001 has been in effect since 2014 without a documented case of an abusive parent obtaining a child's counseling records.

True. Court, attorney general, legislative and news searches found none since 2014, under text nearly identical to I-001. Louisiana's statute has given parents a right to inspect their children's medical and mental health counseling records, with the same investigation-only exception I-001 uses, since August 1, 2014, and copies within ten business days since 2018; searches of Louisiana and federal court records, attorney general opinions, the Legislature's bill history, federal student-privacy rulings and news coverage found no case of an abusive parent obtaining such records, and similar laws in five other states show none either, though no system exists that would reliably record such a case.

Quote or cite this fact-check

FactHub rates the claim “Louisiana's version of I-001 has been in effect since 2014 without a documented case of an abusive parent obtaining a child's counseling records” True (moderate confidence): Court, attorney general, legislative and news searches found none since 2014, under text nearly identical to I-001. Reviewed October 24, 2026. https://facthub.org/n/article/wa-i001-louisiana-track-record/2

One-minute summary

What the evidence establishes

  • Established. Since August 1, 2014, Louisiana law has given parents the right to inspect their child's medical and mental health counseling records at school, with the same investigation-only abuse exception I-001 uses.
  • Established. A 2018 amendment added copies within ten business days, the version Washington's text tracks most closely.
  • Established. Searches of court records, attorney general opinions, legislative history, federal student-privacy rulings and news found no case of an abusive parent obtaining a child's counseling records under the Louisiana law.
  • Established. Similar records laws in Arizona, Oklahoma, Idaho, Florida and Montana have produced no documented case either.
  • Not shown. No agency tracks records requests by accused parents, so a case could have happened without being reported.
  • Context. Like I-001, Louisiana's law has no exception for a parent who has been criminally charged; current Washington law does.
  • Context. Abusers do seek children's records: a Minnesota court blocked one in 2004, and federal guidance says a court order is what lets a school refuse.
  • Context. Washington had 117,792 child abuse and neglect referrals and 3,427 confirmed child victims in 2024.
Important context: The No campaign's This Call ad says Initiative IL26-001 would give an abuser access to their teen's medical and counseling records, and The Seattle Times editorial board, which opposes 001, says the initiative is lifted nearly word-for-word from an identical law in Louisiana. That points to a natural test: Louisiana has had the same records rules since 2014, so has the harm happened there? This article checks that record and similar laws in other states. It does not decide whether 001 is good policy; the ad's claim about what 001's text allows is rated below as an objection. FactHub takes no position on I-001.

The evidence

The conclusion rests on the combined record. Expand each item to see its role and limitations.

Independence note: This check uses 5 methods across 13 institutions and 1 country or international grouping.
Evidence map
Method Institution / country Year(s) What it shows Key limitation Primary links
Reading of Louisiana R.S. 17:406.9 as enacted in 2014 and amended in 2018 and 2024, with its bill history, compared with the filed IL26-001 text Louisiana State Legislature, Washington State Legislature United States 2014, 2018, 2024, 2026 Act 699 of 2014 created R.S. 17:406.9 and gave parents the right to inspect their child's school records, listing academic records, medical or health records and records of any mental health counseling. Its subsection C, added in the Senate Education Committee, says a school shall not be required to release a student's medical or health records or mental health counseling records to a parent during the pendency of an abuse or neglect investigation in which the parent is the target, unless the parent has a court order. The act passed 39-0 in the Senate and 97-0 in the House and took effect August 1, 2014. Act 547 of 2018 added copies within ten business days and more record types; Act 326 of 2024 added an unrelated instruction provision. IL26-001's records list and its subsection (4) exception repeat Louisiana's wording almost exactly, with Washington's child welfare department in place of Louisiana's. The comparison is textual. How Louisiana schools apply the law is not documented in any statewide guidance we found, and Washington's 001 adds notice rights Louisiana lacks. Louisiana State Legislature Louisiana State Legislature Louisiana State Legislature Washington State Legislature
Search of Louisiana and federal court opinions and dockets, Louisiana Attorney General opinions, Louisiana bill histories, federal student-privacy rulings and Louisiana news outlets for any reported case Free Law Project (CourtListener), Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal, Louisiana State Legislature, Louisiana Illuminator United States 2014, 2020, 2026 CourtListener's opinion search returns one Louisiana appellate decision citing R.S. 17:406.9: Daniels v. State (La. App. 4 Cir. 2020), a class action by students at John F. Kennedy High School in New Orleans over falsely inflated grades and incomplete transcripts, which lists the statute among many claims. Two federal cases cite it, over sex-education notice and over juvenile-justice agency records, not abuse. The Louisiana Attorney General's opinion search, which covers opinion summaries, returns nothing for the statute. The Legislature amended the law twice and never changed the abuse exception or recorded a reported misuse. The one relevant Louisiana news story found, from 2026, describes parents struggling to get records despite the law, not abusers getting them. Absence of a reported case is not proof none occurred. Records disputes rarely reach appellate courts, no agency tracks such requests, juvenile and custody files are sealed, and some news archives and paid legal databases could not be searched. Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal Louisiana Illuminator
Reading of the parents' rights statutes of Arizona, Oklahoma, Idaho, Florida and Montana, and a search of court opinions, news, federal letters and advocacy reports for documented cases in those states Arizona Legislature, Idaho Legislature, Florida Legislature, Montana Legislature United States 2010, 2014, 2016, 2021, 2026 Arizona's 2010 Parents' Bill of Rights gives parents access to all medical records of their child unless the parent is the subject of a criminal investigation and police ask that the records be withheld; Oklahoma copied that in 2014 and Florida in 2021. Idaho since 2016 requires schools to give parents education and health records unless they relate to abuse or neglect by the parent. Montana since 2021 gives parents access to all health and medical records with no abuse exception for records. A search of court opinions, state agency and federal letters, news and advocacy reports from both sides found no case in these states of an accused or charged parent obtaining a child's school counseling or medical records. The exceptions differ by state, so these are similar, not identical, tests. The search found no case but cannot rule out unreported ones, and Montana's law, the closest to having no exception, dates only from 2021. Arizona Legislature Idaho Legislature Montana Legislature Florida Legislature Oklahoma State Courts Network
Reading of a Minnesota appellate custody decision, a U.S. Department of Education letter of finding, the federal FERPA regulation and Illinois' order-of-protection statute Minnesota Court of Appeals, U.S. Department of Education, Illinois General Assembly United States 1995, 2004, 2026 In Turner v. Harris (Minn. Ct. App. 2004, unpublished), a father incarcerated for sexually abusing a six-year-old daughter from another relationship sought the school and medical records of two teenage daughters who said he had also abused them; the court upheld an order denying him access because the girls were living in hiding and in fear of him. In 1995 the U.S. Department of Education found a New York district violated federal law by denying a father his daughter's records despite her affidavit that he had abused, threatened and harassed her, and said she could instead submit a court order barring his access. Federal rules give either parent full rights unless an order or law specifically revokes them. Illinois now requires every domestic violence order of protection that bars contact with a child to also deny the restrained parent access to the child's school records. These cases arose under custody law and federal law, not under a parents' bill of rights, and two examples do not measure how often abusers seek records. Minnesota Court of Appeals U.S. Department of Education, Family Policy Compliance Office Illinois General Assembly
Federal child maltreatment statistics for Washington, federal fiscal year 2024 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Children's Bureau United States 2024 Washington had 117,792 child abuse and neglect referrals in 2024, of which 41,428 were screened in. 3,427 children were confirmed victims, 2.1 per 1,000 children, and 413 of them were victims of sexual abuse. The referral figure matches the 117,000 reports the No campaign cites. The numbers show that the abuse opponents worry about is real and that confirmed cases are a small fraction of families. Referrals count reports, not children, and one referral can involve several children; confirmed victims undercount abuse that is never substantiated. The data do not show how many abusive parents are charged or seek school records. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Children's Bureau
1. Louisiana has had I-001's records rules and abuse exception since 2014 Reading of Louisiana R.S. 17:406.9 as enacted in 2014 and amended in 2018 and 2024, with its bill history, compared with the filed IL26-001 text

Act 699 of 2014 created R.S. 17:406.9 and gave parents the right to inspect their child's school records, listing academic records, medical or health records and records of any mental health counseling. Its subsection C, added in the Senate Education Committee, says a school shall not be required to release a student's medical or health records or mental health counseling records to a parent during the pendency of an abuse or neglect investigation in which the parent is the target, unless the parent has a court order. The act passed 39-0 in the Senate and 97-0 in the House and took effect August 1, 2014. Act 547 of 2018 added copies within ten business days and more record types; Act 326 of 2024 added an unrelated instruction provision. IL26-001's records list and its subsection (4) exception repeat Louisiana's wording almost exactly, with Washington's child welfare department in place of Louisiana's.

Limit: The comparison is textual. How Louisiana schools apply the law is not documented in any statewide guidance we found, and Washington's 001 adds notice rights Louisiana lacks.

Verify: SB 312 (2014 Regular Session), enrolled, Act No. 699 La. R.S. 17:406.9, Parents' Bill of Rights for Public Schools (current text) SB 312 (2014 Regular Session) bill history Initiative IL26-001 (filed text)

3. Similar records laws in five other states produced no documented case Reading of the parents' rights statutes of Arizona, Oklahoma, Idaho, Florida and Montana, and a search of court opinions, news, federal letters and advocacy reports for documented cases in those states

Arizona's 2010 Parents' Bill of Rights gives parents access to all medical records of their child unless the parent is the subject of a criminal investigation and police ask that the records be withheld; Oklahoma copied that in 2014 and Florida in 2021. Idaho since 2016 requires schools to give parents education and health records unless they relate to abuse or neglect by the parent. Montana since 2021 gives parents access to all health and medical records with no abuse exception for records. A search of court opinions, state agency and federal letters, news and advocacy reports from both sides found no case in these states of an accused or charged parent obtaining a child's school counseling or medical records.

Limit: The exceptions differ by state, so these are similar, not identical, tests. The search found no case but cannot rule out unreported ones, and Montana's law, the closest to having no exception, dates only from 2021.

Verify: A.R.S. 1-602, Parents' bill of rights Idaho Code 33-6001, Parental rights MCA 40-6-701, Parental rights Fla. Stat. 1014.04, Parental rights 25 O.S. 2002, Rights reserved to parents (Laws 2014, HB 1384)

4. Abusers do seek records, and a specific court order is what stops them Reading of a Minnesota appellate custody decision, a U.S. Department of Education letter of finding, the federal FERPA regulation and Illinois' order-of-protection statute

In Turner v. Harris (Minn. Ct. App. 2004, unpublished), a father incarcerated for sexually abusing a six-year-old daughter from another relationship sought the school and medical records of two teenage daughters who said he had also abused them; the court upheld an order denying him access because the girls were living in hiding and in fear of him. In 1995 the U.S. Department of Education found a New York district violated federal law by denying a father his daughter's records despite her affidavit that he had abused, threatened and harassed her, and said she could instead submit a court order barring his access. Federal rules give either parent full rights unless an order or law specifically revokes them. Illinois now requires every domestic violence order of protection that bars contact with a child to also deny the restrained parent access to the child's school records.

Limit: These cases arose under custody law and federal law, not under a parents' bill of rights, and two examples do not measure how often abusers seek records.

Verify: In re Marriage of Turner v. Harris, No. A03-1055 (Minn. Ct. App. May 4, 2004) (unpublished) Letter of finding to Queens High Schools (February 2, 1995) 725 ILCS 5/112A-14, Domestic violence order of protection; remedies

5. Child abuse in Washington is real; confirmed cases are a small share of reports Federal child maltreatment statistics for Washington, federal fiscal year 2024

Washington had 117,792 child abuse and neglect referrals in 2024, of which 41,428 were screened in. 3,427 children were confirmed victims, 2.1 per 1,000 children, and 413 of them were victims of sexual abuse. The referral figure matches the 117,000 reports the No campaign cites. The numbers show that the abuse opponents worry about is real and that confirmed cases are a small fraction of families.

Limit: Referrals count reports, not children, and one referral can involve several children; confirmed victims undercount abuse that is never substantiated. The data do not show how many abusive parents are charged or seek school records.

Verify: Child Maltreatment 2024

Common questions

“Indeed, the initiative is lifted nearly word-for-word from an identical law in Louisiana.”

Our rating: Mostly true

The records list, the ten-business-day rule and the abuse-investigation exception match Louisiana's text almost exactly. Identical overstates it: Washington's version adds notice of medical services that affect insurance or require follow-up care, notice of removal to a youth shelter or host home, and broader opt-outs. The comparison is what makes Louisiana's record a fair test.

“It would give an abuser access to their teen's medical and counseling records, even after they've been charged with sexually assaulting their own child.”

Our rating: Mostly true

Louisiana's record does not change what 001's text says. Like Louisiana's law, 001 protects records only while an investigation is pending and has no exception for a charged parent, which current Washington law has. Once the investigation closes, a charged parent's request would fall outside the exception. Louisiana shows the scenario has not been documented in twelve years; it does not show it cannot happen.

“I-001 expressly prohibits schools from disclosing a child's records to a parent who is the target of an active abuse or neglect investigation.”

Our rating: Misleading

Louisiana's and 001's exception says a school shall not be required to release medical and counseling records, which permits withholding but does not prohibit release, and it covers only those two record types. Supporters have a stronger true point in Louisiana's record than in this overstatement.

“No documented case does not mean it never happened.”

Short answer: Correct

No agency counts records requests from accused parents, school records disputes rarely reach appellate courts, and juvenile and custody files are sealed. Federal law has also given parents broad access to school records since 1974, so a case might be attributed to it rather than to a state law. That is why the claim says documented and why our confidence is moderate. What the record does show is that in twelve years no case surfaced in courts, attorney general opinions, legislative debate or the press, where a pattern would likely appear.

“Parents accused of abusing their children do invoke parents' rights against schools.”

Short answer: Sometimes

In Massachusetts, a father later charged with assaulting his 15-year-old and the child's mother complained that a high school counseled their child about a gender transition without telling them, and in 2026 the U.S. Department of Education opened a federal investigation of the district. Reports do not say any records were requested or released. The case shows accused parents can and do press parental-rights claims against schools.

“Child abuse by parents is common, so the exception matters.”

Short answer: Real, but rarely confirmed

Washington received 117,792 referrals in 2024 and confirmed 3,427 child victims, about 2 per 1,000 children. Abuse is real and often unconfirmed. But the specific route the ad describes requires a parent who is charged, after the investigation closes, with no court order, who then asks the school for records, and that combination has not been documented under the laws studied.

“Can a school refuse records to a dangerous parent without a court order?”

Short answer: Generally no

Under federal law a school must give either parent access unless an order or law specifically revokes it, and in 1995 the Department of Education held that a sworn abuse allegation alone was not enough. That makes court orders the practical safeguard. Washington's standard no-contact order forms do not include records; Illinois makes the restriction automatic when an order bars contact with the child.

Conclusion

Louisiana enacted its Parents' Bill of Rights for Public Schools in 2014 with unanimous votes in both chambers. From August 1, 2014 it gave parents the right to inspect their child's school records, including medical or health records and records of any mental health counseling, and it carried the same exception Initiative 2081 later copied: a school need not release those records to a parent who is the target of a pending child abuse or neglect investigation unless the parent has a court order. A 2018 amendment added copies within ten business days and widened the records list; that is the version Washington's text tracks most closely. Neither Louisiana nor 001 has a separate exception for a parent who has been criminally charged. We looked for a case in which an abusive or accused parent obtained a child's counseling or medical records under the Louisiana law, in Louisiana and federal court records, attorney general opinions, the Legislature's bill history, federal student-privacy rulings and Louisiana news outlets, and found none. The only state appellate opinion citing the statute is a 2020 class action about inflated grades at a New Orleans high school. The Legislature amended the law in 2018 and 2024 and never changed the abuse exception or recorded a complaint about it. Similar records rights in Arizona since 2010, Oklahoma since 2014, Idaho since 2016, and Florida and Montana since 2021 produced no documented case either. That record is the strongest factual point for 001's supporters: the scenario the ad describes has had twelve years to surface under nearly identical text and has not. It has limits that keep our confidence at moderate. No agency tracks records requests by accused parents, school records disputes rarely reach appellate courts, some news archives were not searchable, and federal law has given parents broad access to school records nationwide since 1974, so a case could go unreported or be attributed to federal law. The risk is not imaginary: in a 2004 Minnesota custody case a father imprisoned for sexually abusing another daughter sought his teenage daughters' school and medical records, and a court blocked him; in 1995 the U.S. Department of Education held that a New York school violated federal law by refusing a father his daughter's records despite her sworn abuse allegation, and said the remedy was a court order. Those cases show that the safeguard that works is a specific court order, which Illinois now issues automatically whenever an order of protection bars a parent from contacting the child. The broader disagreement is about values. Supporters of 001 want the default rule written for the typical family, with dangerous parents handled case by case through investigations and courts. Opponents want default protections for the minority of children in unsafe homes, accepting limits on every family's access. Washington had 117,792 abuse and neglect referrals and 3,427 confirmed child victims in 2024, which shows the harm 001's opponents worry about is real even if this particular route to it has not been documented. We rate the claim True with moderate confidence.

How we checked

  1. Defined the claim as whether Louisiana's R.S. 17:406.9, which I-001 tracks, has produced a documented case since 2014 of an abusive parent obtaining a child's counseling records, and tested whether the two texts match.
  2. Read Louisiana's 2014 enrolled act, its committee amendments and bill history, the 2018 and 2024 amending acts and the current statute, and compared them line by line with the filed IL26-001 text.
  3. Searched CourtListener opinions and federal dockets for the statute and related terms, the Louisiana Attorney General's opinion search, the Louisiana Legislature's bills touching the statute, the U.S. Department of Education's student-privacy resources and Louisiana news outlets, and read every hit.
  4. Read the parents' rights statutes of Arizona, Oklahoma, Idaho, Florida and Montana and searched court opinions, news, federal letters and advocacy reports from both sides for documented cases.
  5. Collected counter-evidence on the risk itself: a Minnesota custody case, a federal letter of finding, the federal FERPA regulation, Illinois' order-of-protection statute, a Massachusetts federal investigation and federal child maltreatment statistics for Washington.
  6. Recorded limits: unsearchable archives and sealed files, no tracking system for records requests, and differences among the state laws.

Editorial note: Scope: this article tests whether the harm the No campaign's ad describes has occurred under Louisiana's nearly identical law and under similar laws in Arizona, Oklahoma, Idaho, Florida and Montana. It rates the ad's claim about 001's text only as an objection, and it does not weigh whether parental access to school medical and counseling records is good policy. Our search covered CourtListener's database of opinions and federal dockets, the Louisiana Attorney General's opinion search, the Louisiana Legislature's bill histories, the U.S. Department of Education's student-privacy resources, Louisiana and national news searches, and advocacy reports from both sides; NOLA.com, The Lafayette Daily Advertiser, Westlaw and Lexis were not searchable, and sealed juvenile or custody files cannot be searched at all. The claim says documented because absence of a documented case does not prove that none occurred. The Massachusetts and Minnesota cases cited are outside the laws studied and are included because they bear on the risk.

Expert-review status

No external specialist review has been recorded.

Funding and conflicts

Funding: No external funding for this piece.

Ownership: Published by the FactHub Research Team.

Conflicts: None known.

Sources

Sources are labeled by kind, with what this fact check takes from each, so readers can check the evidence independently.

  1. Government Louisiana State Legislature. La. R.S. 17:406.9, Parents' Bill of Rights for Public Schools (current text)

    The current Louisiana statute, as amended by Acts 2018 No. 547 and Acts 2024 No. 326.

    Reliability: Official text of the Louisiana Revised Statutes published by the Legislature.

    • Louisiana parents may inspect school records and receive copies within ten business days.

      What the source says
      To inspect their child's school records, and to receive a copy of their child's records within ten business days of submitting a written request, either electronically or on paper.
      Subsection B(2)

    • Louisiana's only records exception covers medical and counseling records during a pending investigation of the parent, the same as I-001's.

      What the source says
      a public school shall not be required to release any records or information regarding a student's medical or health records or mental health counseling records to a parent during the pendency of an investigation of child abuse or neglect
      Subsection C
  2. Government Louisiana State Legislature. SB 312 (2014 Regular Session), enrolled, Act No. 699

    The 2014 act that created R.S. 17:406.9.

    Reliability: Enrolled act as published by the Louisiana Legislature.

    • The 2014 act gave parents the right to inspect school records including medical and mental health counseling records.

      What the source says
      To inspect their child's school records, including all of the following:…(b) Medical or health records.…(c) Records of any mental health counseling.
      Section 1, R.S. 17:406.9(B)(2)

    • The abuse-investigation exception was in the law from 2014.

      What the source says
      pendency of an investigation of child abuse or neglect conducted by any law enforcement agency or the Department of Children and Family Services where the parent is the target of the investigation, unless the parent has obtained a court order.
      Section 1, R.S. 17:406.9(C)
  3. Government Louisiana State Legislature. SB 312 (2014 Regular Session) bill history

    Votes and actions on the 2014 bill.

    Reliability: Official bill history maintained by the Louisiana Legislature.

    • The House passed the 2014 law 97-0.

      What the source says
      Read third time by title, roll called on final passage, yeas 97, nays 0.
      House final passage

    • The Senate passed the 2014 law 39-0.

      What the source says
      Read by title and passed by a vote of 39 yeas and 0 nays
      Senate passage
  4. Government Washington State Legislature. Initiative IL26-001 (filed text)

    The full text of the Washington measure.

    Reliability: Official filed text as published by the Legislature; the measure was written by its sponsors.

    • I-001's exception repeats Louisiana's wording, with Washington's child welfare department.

      What the source says
      a public school shall not be required to release any records or information regarding a student's medical or health records or mental health counseling records to a parent during the pendency of an investigation of child abuse or neglect
      Sec. 1(4)
  5. Government Washington State Legislature. Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1296, Chapter 369, Laws of 2025

    The 2025 law that sets Washington's current records exception, which 001 would replace.

    Reliability: Official session law.

    • Qualifies: Current Washington law also covers a parent charged in a case where the child is the victim, which neither Louisiana nor 001 does.

      What the source says
      to a parent or legal guardian who is the defendant in a criminal proceeding where the student is the named victim
      Sec. 501(3)
  6. Government Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal. Daniels v. State of Louisiana, No. 2020-CA-0175 (La. App. 4 Cir. Oct. 21, 2020)

    The only Louisiana appellate opinion in CourtListener's database that cites R.S. 17:406.9.

    Reliability: Published appellate opinion; the statute is listed among claims and not analyzed.

    • The only appellate opinion citing the statute concerns inflated grades at a New Orleans high school, not abuse.

      What the source says
      an audit of Kennedy High's graduating seniors' eligibility revealed falsely inflated grades, and other irregularities such as incomplete transcripts
      p. 2
  7. News report Louisiana Illuminator. Schools have the upper hand when accused of special education shortcomings. That might change. (March 30, 2026)

    News story on Louisiana parents' difficulty obtaining school records.

    Reliability: Nonprofit news outlet covering Louisiana government; the only relevant Louisiana news item found.

    • Qualifies: The relevant Louisiana coverage found concerns parents struggling to get records despite the law.

      What the source says
      despite the fact that Louisiana's Parents' Bill of Rights guarantees them access
      Body of story
  8. Government Arizona Legislature. A.R.S. 1-602, Parents' bill of rights

    Arizona's 2010 parents' rights statute.

    Reliability: Official Arizona Revised Statutes text.

    • Arizona gives parents all medical records unless the parent is under criminal investigation and police ask that they be withheld.

      What the source says
      access and review all written and electronic medical records of the minor child unless otherwise prohibited by law or unless the parent is the subject of an investigation of a crime committed against the minor child
      Subsection A(6)
  9. Government Oklahoma State Courts Network. 25 O.S. 2002, Rights reserved to parents (Laws 2014, HB 1384)

    Oklahoma's 2014 Parents' Bill of Rights.

    Reliability: Official statute text published by the Oklahoma State Courts Network.

    • Oklahoma uses Arizona's medical-records exception: withheld only if the parent is under criminal investigation and police ask.

      What the source says
      The right to access and review all medical records of the minor child unless otherwise prohibited by law or the parent is the subject of an investigation of a crime committed against the minor child
      Subsection 6
  10. Government Idaho Legislature. Idaho Code 33-6001, Parental rights

    Idaho's 2016 parental rights statute for public schools.

    Reliability: Official Idaho Code text.

    • Idaho requires schools to give parents education and health records unless they relate to abuse by the parent.

      What the source says
      A policy shall not prohibit parents or legal guardians from accessing any of their children’s education and health records created, maintained, or used by the public school unless such documentation relates to physical abuse, abandonment, or neglect by the parent or legal guardian.
      Subsection (3)
  11. Government Montana Legislature. MCA 40-6-701, Parental rights

    Montana's 2021 parental rights statute.

    Reliability: Official Montana Code Annotated text.

    • Montana gives parents access to all of a child's health and medical records, with no records exception for abuse.

      What the source says
      access and review all health and medical records of the child
      Subsection (2)(f)
  12. Government Florida Legislature. Fla. Stat. 1014.04, Parental rights

    Florida's 2021 Parents' Bill of Rights.

    Reliability: Official Florida Statutes text.

    • Florida gives parents all medical records with the same criminal-investigation exception as Arizona.

      What the source says
      The right to access and review all medical records of his or her minor child, unless prohibited by law or if the parent is the subject of an investigation of a crime committed against the minor child
      Subsection (1)(f)
  13. Government Minnesota Court of Appeals. In re Marriage of Turner v. Harris, No. A03-1055 (Minn. Ct. App. May 4, 2004) (unpublished)

    Custody appeal in which a father imprisoned for child sexual abuse sought his teenage daughters' school and medical records.

    Reliability: Unpublished appellate opinion archived by the Minnesota State Law Library; decided under custody law, not a parents' rights statute.

    • Qualifies: A father imprisoned for sexually abusing a young daughter sought his teenage daughters' records.

      What the source says
      who is currently incarcerated for sexually abusing his then-six-year-old daughter from another relationship
      Opinion, background

    • Qualifies: The court upheld denying him the school and medical records because the girls were in hiding and afraid.

      What the source says
      We conclude that the district court's findings support its waiver of appellant's right of access to his daughters' school and medical records to protect the welfare of C.H. and S.H.
      Opinion, decision
  14. Government U.S. Department of Education, Family Policy Compliance Office. Letter of finding to Queens High Schools (February 2, 1995)

    Federal finding on a father's request for his daughter's education records despite her abuse affidavit.

    Reliability: Official finding of the federal office that enforces FERPA.

    • Qualifies: The department held the school violated federal law by refusing the father records despite the daughter's abuse claim.

      What the source says
      we found that the District violated FERPA when it denied [the Parent] access to [the Student's] education records
      p. 2

    • Qualifies: The remedy the department named was a court order barring the father's access.

      What the source says
      could submit to the District a court order which prevents the District from providing [the Parent] access to her education records.
      p. 2
  15. Reference work Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School. 34 CFR 99.4 - What are the rights of parents?

    The federal FERPA regulation on which parents hold education-record rights.

    Reliability: Verbatim reproduction of the Code of Federal Regulations.

    • Qualifies: Federal law gives either parent full rights unless an order or law specifically revokes them.

      What the source says
      court order, State statute, or legally binding document relating to such matters as divorce, separation, or custody that specifically revokes these rights.
      34 CFR 99.4
  16. Government Illinois General Assembly. 725 ILCS 5/112A-14, Domestic violence order of protection; remedies

    Illinois statute setting the remedies in domestic violence orders of protection.

    Reliability: Official Illinois Compiled Statutes text.

    • Qualifies: In Illinois an order that bars contact with a child also bars the parent from the child's school records.

      What the source says
      the order shall deny respondent access to, and prohibit respondent from inspecting, obtaining, or attempting to inspect or obtain, school or any other records of the minor child who is in the care of petitioner.
      Subsection (b)(15)
  17. News report Fall River Reporter. Trump Administration investigating Massachusetts school district for allegedly transitioning student without parents' knowledge (September 17, 2026)

    News report on a federal student-privacy investigation prompted by parents later charged in connection with their child.

    Reliability: Local news outlet; relies on the Department of Education's announcement and WBUR's reporting on the criminal case.

    • Qualifies: A father accused of assaulting his teen invoked parental rights against the school, prompting a federal investigation; no records release is reported.

      What the source says
      the child's father, Joseph Kutzko, was accused of punching and threatening his then-15-year-old child at their home
      Body of story
  18. Government U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Children's Bureau. Child Maltreatment 2024

    Annual federal report of state child abuse and neglect data (NCANDS), federal fiscal year 2024.

    Reliability: Federal compilation of data each state submits; definitions of referrals and victims follow NCANDS.

    • Qualifies: Washington had 117,792 abuse and neglect referrals in 2024, 41,428 screened in.

      What the source says
      Washington 41,428 76,364 117,792 71.2 14.8
      Table 2-3, Total Referrals, 2024 (screened in, screened out, total, rate)

    • Qualifies: Washington confirmed 3,427 child victims in 2024.

      What the source says
      Washington 3,967 3,487 3,389 3,194 3,427 -13.6
      Table 3-3, Child Victims, 2020-2024

    • Qualifies: 413 of Washington's confirmed victims in 2024 were victims of sexual abuse.

      What the source says
      Washington 3,427 - 3,265 - 847 - 413 25 - 4,550
      Table 3-8, Maltreatment Types of Victims, 2024 (victims, neglect, physical, sexual, sex trafficking)
  19. News report The Seattle Times editorial board. Seattle Times endorsements, WA general election 2026: 'No' on Initiative 001, 'parents' rights' (August 29, 2026)

    The editorial board's endorsement against 001.

    Reliability: Has a stake in this finding. Opinion by the editorial board, which urges a No vote.

    • The Times says 001 copies Louisiana's law nearly word for word.

      What the source says
      Indeed, the initiative is lifted nearly word-for-word from an identical law in Louisiana.
      Sixth paragraph
  20. News report The Seattle Times (via Walla Walla Union-Bulletin). What to know about WA parental rights Initiative 001 (October 19, 2026)

    News explainer that quotes the No campaign's This Call ad.

    Reliability: News reporting, separate from the Times editorial board.

    • Qualifies: The ad says 001 would give a charged abuser access to medical and counseling records.

      What the source says
      It would give an abuser access to their teens’ medical and counseling records even after they’d been charged with sexually assaulting their own child
      Near the end of the story
  21. Party to the dispute Let's Go Washington. 101 Lies About I-001 (September 17, 2026)

    The sponsoring committee's response to opposition claims about 001.

    Reliability: Has a stake in this finding. Published by the committee sponsoring 001.

    • Qualifies: The Yes campaign says 001 expressly prohibits disclosure to a parent under investigation.

      What the source says
      I-001 expressly prohibits schools from disclosing a child’s records to a parent who is the target of an active abuse or neglect investigation.
      Response to the first opposition claim

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{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"ClaimReview","url":"https://facthub.org/n/article/wa-i001-louisiana-track-record/2","datePublished":"2026-10-24","dateModified":"2026-10-24","author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"FactHub","url":"https://facthub.org/"},"claimReviewed":"Louisiana\u0027s version of I-001 has been in effect since 2014 without a documented case of an abusive parent obtaining a child\u0027s counseling records.","reviewRating":{"@type":"Rating","alternateName":"True"},"image":"https://facthub.org/node-assets-v2/article/wa-i001-louisiana-track-record/2/la-capitol/social-1200x630.jpg"}

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