Signature education

AN ACT Relating to civics education for public school students 1
through instruction and information about the production and use of 2
official signatures; amending RCW 28A.230.094 and 29A.60.300; adding 3
a new section to chapter 28A.305 RCW; and creating a new section.4
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:5
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature finds that advances in 6
technology, evolving instructional priorities, and limited classroom 7
time have led to a decline in the teaching of cursive handwriting and 8
signature development in public schools. Because Washington state 9
does not require cursive instruction, many students complete their 10
education without learning how to sign their names in a clear, 11
distinctive, and consistent manner.12
(2) The legislature also finds that when students are not taught 13
how to develop and consistently reproduce a distinctive signature, 14
they may face avoidable challenges in voting, entering into legal 15
agreements, and conducting everyday civic and financial affairs. The 16
legislature further finds that a legible and repeatable handwritten 17
signature remains an essential life skill and a foundational element 18
of civic participation. Despite the growth of electronic signatures, 19
many important documents in Washington still require an original, wet 20
ink signature to verify identity and intent. These documents include, 21
H-2684.3
HOUSE BILL 2262
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2026 Regular Session
By Representatives Connors, Rude, Schmidt, Klicker, Graham, Barnard,
and Pollet
Prefiled 01/06/26. Read first time 01/12/26. Referred to Committee
on Education.
p. 1 HB 2262
but are not limited to, ballots, initiatives, voter registration 1
forms, and other official documents that are required at the state 2
and federal level. For many young people, the lack of a consistent 3
signature can create barriers to fully exercising their rights and 4
responsibilities. 5
(3) Therefore, the legislature, through education and reporting 6
requirements, intends to promote instruction that equips public 7
school students with the ability to sign their names legibly and 8
consistently as a practical life skill and as a matter of civic 9
education, helping ensure that future generations are prepared to 10
participate in our democratic process and in the legal and economic 11
life of our state. 12
Sec. 2. RCW 28A.230.094 and 2025 c 369 s 203 are each amended to 13
read as follows: 14
(1)(a) Beginning with or before the 2020-21 school year, each 15
school district that operates a high school must provide a mandatory 16
one-half credit stand-alone course in civics for each high school 17
student. Except as provided by (c) of this subsection, civics content 18
and instruction embedded in other social studies courses do not 19
satisfy the requirements of this subsection. 20
(b) Credit awarded to students who complete the civics course 21
must be applied to course credit requirements in social studies that 22
are required for high school graduation. 23
(c) Civics content and instruction required by this section may 24
be embedded in social studies courses that offer students the 25
opportunity to earn both high school and postsecondary credit.26
(2) The content of the civics course must include, but is not 27
limited to: 28
(a) Federal, state, tribal, and local government organization and 29
procedures; 30
(b) Rights and responsibilities of citizens addressed in the 31
Washington state and United States Constitutions, including the 32
statement of student rights and materials delineated in RCW 33
28A.230.005; 34
(c) Current issues addressed at each level of government;35
(d) Electoral issues, including elections, ballot measures, 36
initiatives, and referenda; 37
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(e) The study and completion of the civics component of the 1
federally administered naturalization test required of persons 2
seeking to become naturalized United States citizens; ((and))3
(f) The importance in a free society of living the basic values 4
and character traits specified in RCW 28A.150.211; and5
(g) Beginning with or before the 2027-28 school year, instruction 6
in producing a legible, repeatable official cursive signature, and 7
how signatures are used by election officials in election, 8
initiative, referenda, and recall processes. The development of 9
curriculum for use in the instruction may be coordinated with the 10
office of the secretary of state and county auditors in accordance 11
with the community outreach plan required by RCW 29A.60.168.12
(3) By September 1, 2020, the office of the superintendent of 13
public instruction, in collaboration with the Washington state 14
association of county auditors and a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization 15
engaged in voter outreach and increasing voter participation, shall 16
identify and make available civics materials and resources for use in 17
courses under this section. The materials and resources must be 18
posted on the office of the superintendent of public instruction's 19
website. 20
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 28A.305 21
RCW to read as follows: 22
Beginning with the report issued for the 2027-28 school year, the 23
state board of education's system of annual monitoring of school 24
district compliance with basic education requirements must include 25
information about which school districts are offering, as required by 26
RCW 28A.230.094, instruction to students in producing a legible, 27
repeatable official cursive signature, and how signatures are used by 28
election officials. 29
Sec. 4. RCW 29A.60.300 and 2016 c 134 s 3 are each amended to 30
read as follows: 31
(1) Every odd-numbered year, the secretary of state must conduct 32
and publish a statewide survey of voted ballot rejection rates and 33
the reasons for those rejections by county auditors and canvassing 34
boards. The secretary of state must collect data from reconciliation 35
reports and county auditors in order to compare county and statewide 36
averages for rates of rejected ballots and reasons for those ballots 37
being rejected. The data collected must include rejection rates and 38
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reasons for rejection of voted ballots for all elections , including 1
the number and rates of ballots that were rejected for signature 2
mismatch by voter age groupings . The survey must include an analysis 3
of current practices by county auditors and canvassing boards in the 4
acceptance and rejection of ballots, and include recommendations for 5
improvements that minimize rejections in those practices, with a goal 6
of statewide standardization where applicable. The results must also 7
be analyzed and compared with available national data and recognized 8
best practices. The secretary of state's recommendations and reports 9
must be made available to the public and provided to the office of 10
the superintendent of public instruction for inclusion in their 11
website content pertaining to civic education.12
(2) Any elections reports for the state that are published 13
annually by the secretary of state must: (a) Include the number and 14
rates of ballots that were rejected for signature mismatch by voter 15
age groupings; and (b) be provided to the office of the 16
superintendent of public instruction for inclusion in their website 17
content pertaining to civic education. 18
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