COMMISSION
AGENDA MEMORANDUM
Item No.
10b
ACTION ITEM
Date of Meeting
October 13, 2026
DATE: October 6, 2026
TO: Stephen P. Metruck, Executive Director
FROM: Aaron Pritchard, Commission Chief of Staff
Francis Choe, Strategic Advisor, Commission Office
SUBJECT: Port of Seattle Commission Resolution Opposing Initiative IL26-001
ACTION REQUESTED
Request Commission adoption of Resolution No. 3856, a resolution expressing opposition to
Initiative Measure No. IL26-001, Concerning the Disclosure of Private Student Medical and
Mental Health Records Without Student Consent, Appearing on the November 3, 2026, General
Election Ballot; and Reaffirming the Commission’s Commitment, First Expressed in Order
No. 2022-08, to Protecting the Privacy of Personal Health Information and Health Care Decisions.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
During the general election on November 3, 2026, Washington voters will act on two statewide
ballot measures sponsored by the political committee Let’s Go Washington. Both were filed as
initiatives to the Legislature; when the Legislature declined to act on them during the 2026
session, they advanced to the general election ballot for a vote of the people. Initiative Measure
No. IL26-001 would partially repeal the student privacy protections of Engrossed Substitute
House Bill 1296, enacted by the Legislature in 2025, by allowing certain private student medical
and mental health records to be disclosed to parents without the student’s consent and by
requiring parental notification before medical services are offered.
The measure rests on the same premise the Commission rejected in Order No. 2022-08 following
the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision, a 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling,
in which the court ruled that government may compel the disclosure of private health
information. The students affected attend the same public schools from which the Port draws
participants for its Career Connected Learning programs, high school internships at SEA, and the
Youth Maritime Career Launch program.
This resolution is brought forward alongside a companion resolution opposing Initiative Measure
No. IL26-638 to establish the Port of Seattle Commission’s opposition to IL26-001 on the
November 2026 ballot, consistent with the Commission’s record: its 2016 opposition to Initiative
COMMISSION AGENDA – Action Item No. 10b Page 2 of 2
Meeting Date: October 13, 2026
1515 (Motion 2016-04), its gender-inclusive facilities direction (Motion 2018-08), its June 2023
Pride proclamation, its equity principle “Prioritizing the Most Vulnerable,” and Order No. 2022-
08 (aligning Port policy with Washington’s Directive 22-21 cooperation or assistance with out-of-
state abortion and other reproductive health care investigations, prosecutions or other legal
actions).
ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND
Statewide
Initiative Measure No. IL26-001 was filed on May 22, 2025, and certified to the November 3, 2026
general election ballot after the Legislature declined to act on it during the 2026 session. The
measure would roll back changes the Legislature made in 2025 through ESHB 1296, which
updated the parental-rights framework created by Initiative 2081 (2024) to protect the
confidentiality of certain student medical and mental health records. Opposition has been
announced by the Washington State PTA, the ACLU of Washington, the Washington Education
Association, and the No Hate in WA State coalition. On July 28, 2026, the Tacoma City Council
unanimously adopted Resolution No. 41972 expressing opposition to both of Let’s Go
Washington’s initiatives. On September 22, 2026, King County Council also formally adopted
resolutions opposing Initiatives IL26-638 and IL26-001.
Port of Seattle
The Port’s equity framework, Values in Action, includes a principle titled “Prioritizing the Most
Vulnerable,” committing the Port to engaging those most directly and adversely impacted by its
work and expressly naming vulnerable communities as relevant stakeholders. The draft
resolution applies this principle to the initiative’s effect on students, on the premise that children
are among the Port’s most vulnerable stakeholders. The Commission’s June 2023 Pride
proclamation recognized that discriminatory laws targeting the LGBTQIA2S+ community are on
the rise and committed the Port to supporting LGBTQIA2S+ individuals and their families; Order
No. 2022-08 affirmed that private health care information belongs to the person and must not
be subject to compelled disclosure.
The Port’s economic stake parallels the companion measure: a visitor economy – more than 50
million SEA travelers annually and a record cruise season generating an estimated $1.2 billion –
that depends on the region’s welcoming reputation, and a multi-million-dollar annual investment
in student-age young people through Career Connected Learning, SEA high school internships,
the $4.1 million Youth Maritime Career Launch program, and Duwamish Valley youth programs.
ATTACHMENTS TO THIS REQUEST
(1) Draft Resolution
