Liberal Washington wants to let felons to volunteer in schools...what could go wrong?

OLYMPIA, WA- A Washington State Democrat has filed a bill allowing felons to volunteer in the state’s schools. 

Rep. Tarra Simmons, an ex-con who was imprisoned for theft, drug, and firearms offenses, is the lead sponsor of House Bill 1189. That legislation would require school districts to inform applicants that if they submitted “proof of rehabilitation,” they could volunteer in schools, regardless of their convictions. 

That “proof” would consist of “criminal innocence or rehabilitation-related documents,” which is defined in the proposed bill as:

“...evidence that a criminal conviction is the subject of: (i) Expungement, pardon, vacation, annulment, certificate of rehabilitation, or other equivalent procedure based on a finding of the rehabilitation of the person convicted; (ii) a pardon, annulment, or other equivalent procedure based on a finding of innocence; or (iii) a certificate of restoration of opportunity under RCW 9.97.020.” 

If a parent submits “criminal innocence or rehabilitation-related documents,” the proposed bill says, “the school may not deny the parent’s volunteer application based on a criminal conviction if the parent signed a statement indicating the parent has not been convicted of any crime since the date that the criminal innocence or rehabilitation-related document was issued.” 

If a was convicted of one or more crimes and does not submit a criminal innocence or rehabilitation-related document, fear not! The school will consider: 

(i)...the length of time since the commission of the last time for which the parent was convicted and whether any criminal conviction involved a minor child victim; and

(ii)...(A) the age of the parent on the date of the commission of the last crime for which the parent was convicted; (B) whether the parent has been approved by a state agency to have unsupervised access to children under 18 years of age or persons with  developmental disabilities; or (C) limiting the parent’s unsupervised access to children under 18  years of age and to persons with developmental disabilities if this would give the parent the opportunity to have meaningful involvement in the school.”

Volunteers who are not parents are also eligible for the program. They must submit to a criminal records check within two years of applying to volunteer at the school and sign a waiver allowing any organization to release the information. They must also “swear on a stack of Bibles” that there have been no other convictions since the completion date of the most recent background check. 

However, if you work in the schools, you will be subject to a record check through the Washington State Patrol criminal identification system and the FBI. 

According to the bill, schools must notify applicants of their decision, explain why they were rejected, and tell the applicant how to appeal the rejection. 

People with criminal records are already allowed to teach in Seattle schools. Ian Golash, a teacher and department head at Chief Sealth High School, had multiple arrests in Oregon, including for assault, parole violation, and criminal harassment. Oh, he’s also a big supporter of Hamas and was put on paid administrative leave after supporting the terrorist organization and denying the Oct. 7, 2023 atrocities in Israel. 

In further evidence that Washington State lawmakers don’t seem to put kids first, last week, Washington Democrats voted against an amendment to House Bill 1296 that would have required school districts to immediately notify parents if their child was a victim of sexual misconduct by a school employee. 

The foregoing is seen as an attempt to undermine Initiative 2081, the Parental Rights Initiative, which would give parents the right to review educational materials, receive notifications regarding their child’s physical and mental health, and opt out of sexual health education.