In late March, a video of state Rep. Tomiko Santos, D-Seattle, began circulating on the internet. The video shows Santos, who chairs the House Education Committee, speaking during a town hall about a controversial sex education bill that had drawn hundreds to Olympia in opposition.
In the video, posted by The Stranger, Santos said she agreed with the bill’s policy to mandate that school districts across the state teach sex education. But Santos added that “the politics of this bill were it’s undoing and failing” describing how she and school districts weren’t happy with the process.
Santos didn’t schedule a hearing for the bill, which died before a legislative cutoff. The bill’s demise was perhaps the biggest victory for social conservatives, who have played defense in the last two sessions after Democrats took full control of the Legislature.
During the 2019 legislative session, slated to wrap up Sunday, lawmakers have waded into culture wars on sex education, school bullying and more, drawing crowds to hearing rooms and outside the Capitol to protest bills they said would undermine religious freedom and parental authority.