We made it to the end of week 5 and it was one full of long hearings and bill cut-offs. Over the weekend, fiscal committees in both chambers held marathon hearings and executive sessions, doing their best to move as many bills out of committee by Monday’s cut-off date, all the while feeling the constraints of the tight budget. As the Washington State Standard’s Goldstein-Street put it, “with another budget shortfall hanging over the session, bills that cost much are having a hard time.” The House of Origin Cut-off will be at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 17th. By that date/time, bills sitting in respective “Rules Committees” will need to be passed out into the opposite chamber.
Bills that are considered directly “necessary to implement the budget,” like those that include new taxes or otherwise bring in revenue for the state, are not constrained by these cut-offs and can be brought forward at any time in the session. This can get a bit confusing as lawmakers get creative, attaching this NTIB label to specific bills. This only adds to the mounting pressure felt by legislators as they approach the last few weeks of session and sine die (end of session) on March 12.
This cut-off marked a shift, as legislators spent the remainder of the week debating legislation on the floor. Bills that survived this cut-off will head back to the policy committee in the opposite house for more debate and likely amending.
On Thursday, OSPI sent out a press release highlighting a positive trend in student attendance since the pandemic. Read that press release here.
Committee Meetings Next Week on tvw.org
House Education Committee:
- Wednesday, February 18th @ 1030am
- Thursday, February 19th @ 8am
Senate Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee:
- Wednesday, February 18th @ 1030am
- Thursday, February 19th @ 1030am
House Bills We’re Following
HB 1295: which would require public schools to implement a comprehensive literacy program that uses evidence-based instructional practices to promote the early literacy and reading and writing literacy of students in kindergarten through fourth grade. The bill also directs the PESB to adopt revised literacy endorsement standards and to require teacher preparation programs to implement the revised standards. The bill is in the House Rules Committee.
SSHB 1634: which establishes a network of statewide and regional partners to provide school districts and public schools with the technical assistance, resources, and training necessary to coordinate comprehensive student supports across the behavioral health continuum. The bill is in the House Rules Committee.
HB 1795: This bill would prohibit specified interventions, including chemical and mechanical restraint, and prohibit the construction of isolation rooms, while allowing physical restraint and isolation of students under certain conditions. The bill would also prohibit the isolation of students in prekindergarten through fifth grade beginning August 1, 2027, except under specified conditions and modify requirements for incident notification, review, and reporting, behavioral intervention planning; and policies and procedures. The bill is in the House Rules Committee.
HB 2007: which authorizes the use of competency-based assessment in specified graduation pathways. The bill is in the House Rules Committee.
HB 2262: which would require that the content of mandatory high school civics classes include instruction in producing legible, repeatable, official cursive signatures and how signatures are used by election officials. The bill is in the House Rules Committee.
HB 2360: which would expand access to albuterol in public and private schools (hearing time: 33:07).Testifying as “other”: a concerned citizen. The bill is in the House Rules Committee.
HB 2534: which would make changes to school district requirements for enrolling children of military families, transferring their education records, and providing them with services and accommodations. The bill is in the House Rules Committee.
HB 2557: which would require a school district to provide the student’s parent or guardian with a copy of the special education evaluation report at least five school days before the meeting at which the report will be reviewed or the student’s eligibility for services will be determined, unless the parent or guardian provides a written waiver of this timeline. The bill is in the House Rules Committee.
HB 2594: which establishes state-based requirements for ensuring that homeless children and youths have equal access to the same free, appropriate public education as is provided to other children and youths. The bill is in the House Rules Committee.
HB 2636: which establishes the 15-member Public Education Review Advisory Council and directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee to examine policy requirements and funding provisions for public schools recommended for review by the Council. The bill is in the House Rules Committee.
Senate Bills We’re Following
SSB 5346: which would revise the definition of digital citizenship so that the norms of appropriate, responsible, and healthy behavior related to current technology use include student use of mobile devices as well as directs OSPI to include research on student use of mobile devices and recommended best practice strategies for teaching students how to use their mobile devices responsibly. The bill has passed out of the Senate Rules Committee. As School Cellphone Bans Gain in Popularity, Lawmakers say it’s time to go Bell-to-Bell.
SB 5574: which requires school districts to adopt a policy ensuring that instruction in Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, Latino American, and Black American history is included in one or more required social studies courses when the district reviews or adopts its social studies curriculum during its regular review cycle. The bill is in the Senate Rules Committee.
SSB 5841: which requires high school and beyond plans to contain evidence that the student has completed at least one state or federal financial aid application, or that their parent or legal guardian has opted the student out of this requirement. The bill is in the Senate Rules Committee.
SB 5860: which would increase the compensation amount for school board directors from $50 per day to $100 per day and would add child care costs as a type of expense to be paid when directors attend school board meetings. The bill is in the Senate Rules Committee.
SB 5907: which would expand allowable enrollment in the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP), to children from a household with a parent who is a military member and has a family income under a specified threshold. The bill is in the Senate Rules Committee.
SB 5943: which allows expiring impact fees to be used to modernize school facilities to comply with state and federal laws regarding student safety, campus security, emergency response, and energy efficiency standards. The bill is in the Senate Rules Committee.
SB 5951: which requires the Secretary of Health to issue a statewide standing order to schools or school districts prescribing albuterol for any student or individual experiencing respiratory symptoms. The bill is in the Senate Rules Committee.
SB 5952: which would direct WSSDA and OSPI to develop a standardized process, including a template form, for excusing individual high school students from participating in physical education in accordance with state law. The bill is in the Senate Rules Committee.
SSB 5956: which prohibits certain decisions related to student discipline and school safety based on automated decision systems, school surveillance technology, biometric data, and facial recognition services. This bill would direct OSPI to update its guidance on artificial intelligence in K-12 education to address automated decision systems and school surveillance technologies. The bill is in the House Education Committee.
SB 5961: which would transfer the imagination library program from the Department of Children, Youth, and Families to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, as well as direct OSPI, to contract with a nonprofit entity experienced in the provision of promoting early literacy for children through pediatric office visits. The bill is in the Senate Rules Committee.
SB 5969: which directs that the statewide online system for Individualized Education Programs (IEP) and High School and Beyond Plans be integrated to the greatest extent possible in order to relieve duplication between the plans. The bill is in the Senate Rules Committee.
SSB 5992: which would create a non-appropriated, youth development fund account and authorize the Superintendent of Public Instruction to distribute grant funding from the account to certain entities to support youth development programs. The bill has passed out of the Senate Rules Committee.
SB 6052: which would authorize the Washington School Information Processing Cooperative to develop a statewide digital transcript file standard and a secure, platform-independent environment for the exchange of transcript data between school districts, charter schools, state-tribal education compact schools, and postsecondary institutions. The bill is in the Senate Rules Committee.
SB 6089: which aims to increase coordination and alignment among state agencies, educational institutions, and workforce partners across the education continuum. The bill is in the Senate Rules Committee.
SB 6130: which directs public high schools to observe National Voter Registration Day each September and to coordinate voter registration events on National Voter Registration Day. The bill is in the Senate Rules Committee.
SSB 6222: which allows school districts and educational service districts to sell surplus computer laptops, tablets, and other electronic devices or equipment at depreciated cost to public school students. The bill has passed out of the Senate Rules Committee.
SB 6247: which directs educational service districts (ESDs) to provide additional budget oversight and support to school districts that are in binding conditions or showing indicators of financial distress. The bill also directs the Washington State School Directors’ Association (WSSDA) to provide governance training regarding district budgeting, accounting, and financial health, and requires school directors to complete the training. The bill is in the Senate Rules Committee.
SSB 6268: which would require OSPI to maintain an online record of all final decisions issued in response to special education community complaints in the prior 20 years. The bill has passed out of the Senate Rules Committee.
SB 6278: which would require the PESB to conduct an ongoing review of approved educator preparation programs to include program standards, educator role standards, evidence submitted by programs, and input from community constituents such as classroom educators and administrators. The bill is in the Senate Rules Committee.
Odds and Ends
I say, let them celebrate! From The Seattle Times, 12k Seattle Students (and some Teachers) Skip Class Amid Seahawks Parade.
The latest on the school lunch – guidelines shifting and slowly trickling down. From NPR Education, How the New Dietary School Guidelines Could Impact School Meals.
CSTP’s Legislative Update Coordinator
Samantha Miller returns as CSTP’s Legislative Updates Coordinator for the 2026 legislative session. She writes weekly emails during the legislative session focusing on bills that impact Washington educators.
Samantha has degrees in both Political Science and History, as well as a Master’s in Teaching. Samantha has worked in Elementary Education for 8 years, most recently as a 3rd Grade general education teacher. The majority of her time is spent chasing around her two children who keep her very busy. Samantha enjoys running, working in her yard, listening to political podcasts, and spending time with her family.