Washington to decide ballot initiatives in 2026 related to school sports eligibility based on biological sex and certain
Sports eligibility initiative
The first initiative that voters in Washington will decide on, known as IL26-638, is also the first statewide measure related to biological sex requirements for eligibility in school sports to qualify for the ballot in American history.
The initiative would prohibit biologically male students from participating in sports designated for female students, and would require verification of their biological sex by a health care provider based on "reproductive anatomy, genetic makeup, or normal endogenously produced testosterone levels."
Parental rights initiative
The second initiative that Washington voters will weigh in on, known as IL26-001, would reenact an indirect initiated state statute that the legislature previously approved in 2024, and then partially repealed and amended in May 2025. That law provided parents with a right to review educational materials, receive certain notifications, and opt out of sexual health education. The legislative changes removed, from the statute, the rights of parents to receive prior notification when medical services are offered to their child, except in cases of emergency medical treatment, when medical services of medications are given that could result in a financial impact on the parent or guardian, or when the school has arranged for medical treatment resulting in follow-up care after school hours.
Background for the initiatives
Both initiatives are Initiatives to the Legislature, a type of indirect initiated state statute where, if enough valid signatures are gathered, the state legislature can choose to: 1) adopt the initiative as written; 2) reject or not act on the initiative, thereby placing it on the ballot for voter approval; or 3) approve an alternative to the proposed initiative, in which case both the original proposal and the legislative alternative are placed on the ballot.
https://news.ballotpedia.org/2026/03/13/washington-to-decide-ballot-initiatives-in-2026-related-to-school-sports-eligibility-based-on-biological-sex-and-certain-parental-rights-in-public-schools/