Statement on Heywood Initiative & Trump Administration Political Assault on Washington Schools & Students
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, January 22, 2026
In response to the Secretary of State’s certification of Initiative 26-638, Brian Heywood’s anti-trans student initiative, and to the Trump Administration’s continued assault on Washington schools with a second politicized Title IX investigation, Shannon McCann, a middle school special education teacher, gave the following statement on behalf of Washington Families for Freedom:
“All students, regardless of race, background, gender or zip code deserve to be safe and welcomed at school, with the respect and security they need to learn and thrive. Our Washington schools and communities must be places of learning and belonging, and deserve support and funding, not harmful attacks at the ballot box. Especially as families are concerned about affordability and providing the best for our children’s futures, our coalition rejects any attempts to bully, including efforts by one mega-millionaire to replace our state’s longstanding policy on trans girls in sports with a statewide blanket ban. Heywood’s measure would make all female students less safe and could put girls as young as 11, who want to participate in school sports, at risk of unnecessary genital examinations or having to undergo expensive genetic testing. In a world where far too many students are still struggling to have healthy meals, clothes on their backs, and a safe home to return to after school, it is confounding that a millionaire would spend political money on this, instead of helping every student have what they need to thrive.”
Trump’s politicized Title IX investigations come at a time when his Department of Education is abandoning women and girls by opening fewer sexual violence investigations.
After spending millions to attempt to buy his way on to the ballot, hedge fund mega-millionaire and major Trump inaugural committee donor Brian Heywood, has received acceptance from the Secretary of State for IL 26-638. The initiative specifies that any student wishing to participate in girls’ sports must have their sex verified. The language from the initiative is below:
A student who elects to participate in individual or team
competition activities intended for female students only governed
under subsection (1) of this section shall provide, as part of the
required routine sports physical examination, a health examination
and consent form or other statement signed by the student's personal
health care provider that verifies the student's biological sex,
relying only on one or more of the following: The student's
reproductive anatomy, genetic makeup, or normal endogenously
produced testosterone levels.
Notably, the state of Ohio amended its trans sports ban in 2022 to remove language around physician verification of sex and specify that eligibility would be determined by birth certificates.
Washington Families for Freedom is endorsed by many child advocacy, safety, education, and health providers including the Coalition Ending Gender-Based Violence, WA Youth Alliance, Team Child, Washington Education Association, League of Education Voters, Gender Justice League, Pro-Choice Washington, ACLU of Washington, GSBA, Washington’s LGBTQ+ and Allied Chamber of Commerce, and Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates.
For more information visit WAFamiliesforFreedom.org
Paid for by WA Families for Freedom
Top 5 Contributors: SEIU 775 Ballot Fund, ACLU of Washington, Washington Education Association, Gender Justice League, Pro-Choice Washington
# # #
