A Washington state judge paused parts of a new "parents' bill of rights" law after the American Civil Liberties Union and two other groups filed a lawsuit alleging it violates the state constitution.

Initiative 2081 consists of 15 rights that parents are entitled to regarding their children's educational experience in the state's public schools. It went into effect on June 6.

The ACLU of Washington, QLaw, and Legal Voice sued the state over the bill's provision that granted parents the right to access medical and mental health information from schools about their children. Among those opposed to the legislation, there is a concern that sharing medical and mental health records with children's parents will "out" them if they are questioning their sexual orientation.

Records would also tell parents if their children are seeking out birth control, referrals for abortions, or treatment and support for sexual assault if they seek out help at school clinics.

"(The initiative) gave parents this new right to get any medical or mental health records related to their students that appear in schools, and that contradicts the fact that Washington youth have a right to confidential health care," Legal Voice litigation attorney Julia Marks told the Seattle Times.

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On Friday, King County Superior Court Judge Michael Scott paused the provision of the law from going into effect while the lawsuit is ongoing.

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The bill, which passed with support from a Democratic majority and a Republican minority, also lays out parents' right to opt their children out of certain assignments involving the topics of religion, sexuality, morality, and politics.

Republican state Rep. Jim Walsh said he is "encouraged that the judge left the bulk of the parents' bill of rights in place."

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