Guaranteed admissions prg.

AN ACT Relating to making higher education more accessible by 1
establishing the Washington guaranteed admissions program and 2
requiring student notifications; adding a new section to chapter 3
28B.10 RCW; adding new sections to chapter 28A.150 RCW; and creating 4
a new section. 5
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:6
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that engaging with 7
high school students to prepare them for higher education and 8
familiarize them with college admissions through guaranteed 9
admissions increases equity, access, and credential completion in the 10
state. The legislature intends to establish the Washington guaranteed 11
admissions program as an appropriate and necessary step to accomplish 12
these goals.13
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 28B.10 14
RCW to read as follows: 15
(1) The Washington guaranteed admissions program is established.16
(2)(a) The regional universities, the state college, at least one 17
campus of each state university, and tribal institutions of higher 18
education operated by an Indian tribe as defined in RCW 43.376.010 19
H-0535.2
HOUSE BILL 1557
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Representatives Reed, Salahuddin, Scott, Morgan, Street, Ramel,
Walen, Macri, Berry, Obras, Bernbaum, Fosse, Mena, Bergquist, Ortiz-
Self, Lekanoff, Duerr, Ryu, Leavitt, Gregerson, Parshley, Kloba,
Goodman, Peterson, Zahn, Pollet, and Doglio
Read first time 01/23/25. Referred to Committee on Postsecondary
Education & Workforce.
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shall participate in the Washington guaranteed admissions program 1
beginning in the 2026-27 academic year. 2
(b) Institutions in (a) of this subsection may opt out of the 3
Washington guaranteed admissions program by reporting to the 4
legislature, in accordance with RCW 43.01.036, the following:5
(i) The reason for opting out; and 6
(ii) A detailed overview of other initiatives for improving 7
admissions and expanding access to the institution for resident 8
students. 9
(3) Beginning with the 2026-27 academic year, participating 10
institutions shall simplify and streamline the general admissions 11
application form requiring only necessary information for students.12
(4) Beginning with the 2026-27 academic year, an organization 13
representing the presidents of the public four-year institutions of 14
higher education shall consult with the student achievement council 15
and the state board for community and technical colleges in 16
determining eligibility criteria for the Washington guaranteed 17
admissions program and annually reviewing the eligibility criteria.18
(5) Beginning with the 2026-27 academic year, the Washington 19
school information processing cooperative shall collect and transmit 20
the data of students in grades 11 and 12 who meet the criteria 21
determined in subsection (4) of this section to an organization 22
representing the presidents of the public four-year institutions of 23
higher education, which shall hold and make the information available 24
to participating institutions for the purpose of guaranteeing 25
admission to qualified applicants in accordance with this section.26
(6) By December 10, 2027, and each year thereafter until December 27
31, 2032, an organization representing the presidents of the public 28
four-year institutions of higher education shall submit a report on 29
the Washington guaranteed admissions program to the appropriate 30
committees of the legislature in accordance with RCW 43.01.036. The 31
report must include the following information from the prior academic 32
year: 33
(a) Eligibility criteria and changes made to the Washington 34
guaranteed admissions program; 35
(b) The number of students offered admission by each 36
participating institution disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gender, 37
Title I status of the high school attended, and economic status;38
(c) The postsecondary enrollment rates of students offered 39
guaranteed admissions by each participating institution disaggregated 40
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by race, ethnicity, gender, Title I status of the high school 1
attended, and economic status; 2
(d) The postsecondary application and enrollment rates of 3
students who are offered guaranteed admissions within 0.2 grade point 4
average of the eligibility cutoff disaggregated by institution, race, 5
ethnicity, gender, Title I status of the high school attended, and 6
economic status; and 7
(e) The postsecondary application and enrollment rates of 8
students who are not offered guaranteed admissions because their 9
grade point average is below the eligibility cutoff by 0.2 grade 10
point average or less, disaggregated by institution, race, ethnicity, 11
gender, Title I status of the high school attended, and economic 12
status. 13
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 28A.150 14
RCW to read as follows: 15
(1) By January 1, 2026, each school district, charter school, 16
state-tribal education compact school, and institutional education 17
provider with students in grade 11 or 12 shall enter into a data-18
sharing agreement with each participating institution in the 19
Washington guaranteed admissions program established in section 2 of 20
this act or the Washington school information processing cooperative 21
to facilitate the transfer of data of students in grades 11 and 12 22
who meet the criteria determined pursuant to section 2 (4) of this 23
act. Beginning with the 2026-27 school year, school districts, 24
charter schools, state-tribal education compact schools, and 25
institutional education providers shall work with the Washington 26
school information processing cooperative and participating 27
institutions through an organization representing the presidents of 28
the public four-year institutions of higher education to facilitate 29
the transfer of data required under this subsection.30
(2) The definitions in this subsection apply throughout this 31
section unless the context clearly requires otherwise.32
(a) "Charter school" means a school established under chapter 33
28A.710 RCW. 34
(b) "Institutional education provider" has the same meaning as in 35
RCW 28A.190.005. 36
(c) "Participating institutions" are those that have not opted 37
out of the program and includes the regional universities, the state 38
college, at least one campus of each state university, and tribal 39
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institutions of higher education operated by an Indian tribe as 1
defined in RCW 43.376.010. 2
(d) "State-tribal education compact school" means a school 3
subject to chapter 28A.715 RCW. 4
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 28A.150 5
RCW to read as follows: 6
(1) The student achievement council shall collaborate with the 7
office of the superintendent of public instruction, an organization 8
representing the presidents of the public four-year institutions of 9
higher education, the state board for community and technical 10
colleges, educational service districts, the Washington school 11
information processing cooperative, and the Washington school 12
counselor association to create a notice providing information about 13
the following programs or initiatives, including definitions and 14
eligibility criteria: 15
(a) The Washington guaranteed admissions program established in 16
section 2 of this act; 17
(b) The Washington college grant program created in RCW 18
28B.92.200; 19
(c) Dual credit programs as defined in RCW 28A.600.280;20
(d) Career and technical education programs; 21
(e) Associate degrees and certificates; 22
(f) The free application for federal student aid; and23
(g) The Washington application for state financial aid.24
(2) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall 25
work with the student achievement council to disseminate the notice 26
created in subsection (1) of this section to each school district, 27
charter school, state-tribal education compact school, and 28
institutional education provider with students in grades nine through 29
12. 30
(3)(a) Beginning in the 2025-26 school year, each school 31
district, charter school, state-tribal education compact school, and 32
institutional education provider with students in grades nine through 33
12 shall: 34
(i) Disseminate the notice created in subsection (1) of this 35
section to students in grades nine through 12 and their parents or 36
guardians at the beginning of the school year, but no later than 37
November of each school year. The notice may be disseminated 38
electronically; and 39
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(ii) Designate a staff member or create a virtual resource for 1
students to learn more about the information contained in the notice 2
created in subsection (1) of this section. 3
(b) Beginning with the 2026-27 school year, each school district, 4
charter school, state-tribal education compact school, and 5
institutional education provider with students in grade 11 or 12 6
shall: 7
(i) Collaborate with the Washington school information processing 8
cooperative and participating public four-year institutions of higher 9
education through an organization representing the presidents of the 10
public four-year institutions of higher education to create a 11
notification about the Washington guaranteed admissions program 12
established in section 2 of this act and general admissions. The 13
notification must provide a parent or guardian of a student in grades 14
nine through 12 with an opportunity to opt the student out of the 15
Washington guaranteed admissions program; and 16
(ii) Disseminate the notice created in (b)(i) of this subsection 17
to students in grades 11 and 12 and their parents or guardians.18
(4) The definitions in this subsection apply throughout this 19
section unless the context clearly requires otherwise.20
(a) "Charter school" means a school established under chapter 21
28A.710 RCW. 22
(b) "Institutional education provider" has the same meaning as in 23
RCW 28A.190.005. 24
(c) "State-tribal education compact school" means a school 25
subject to chapter 28A.715 RCW. 26
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