Welcome to the weekly Washington STEM Advocacy Coalition update. Invite a colleague, changemaker, or leader to join the 2026 Washington STEM Advocacy Coalition, receive notifications and information about upcoming policy calls, and stay up to date on advocacy efforts. Sign up here.
Our 2026 Legislative Priorities are grounded in the near-term goals of our strategic plan. They reflect our response to a short 60-day session and acknowledge the challenging budget landscape.
Day 33 of the legislative session marks just over the halfway point, and a key deadline is approaching: All bills must pass out of their House of Origin by Tuesday, February 17. After that, we transition back to policy committees, where House bills will move to Senate committees and Senate bills will move to House committees. Many bills are expected to be added to committee agendas early next week, so be sure to check the links below regularly to stay informed and keep up with the latest updates.
If there are bills you want to highlight, feature, or share with the coalition, please reach out.
Washington STEM 2026 Legislative Priorities:
Our 2026 Legislative Priorities are grounded in the near-term goals of our strategic plan. They reflect our response to a short 60-day session and acknowledge the challenging budget landscape.
Advance Cross-Agency Early Learning to K12 Data Coordination
GOAL: Strengthen system alignment and understanding of public and private investments, leading to more accessible child care for families across the state.
Support Funding for the Online High School and Beyond Plan Platform
GOAL: Ensure every student has access to meaningful, evidence-driven postsecondary and career planning tools shaped by community.
Preserve Investments in Washington’s Postsecondary Education and Career Pathways
GOAL: Sustain investments in financial aid and stackable career-connected learning experiences that are preparing students for high-demand opportunities, driving economic growth, and building a competitive, skilled workforce.
Updates from Olympia:
- There are 27 days left in the session. As we enter into the final weeks, bills are continuing to move as well as budget conversations. House of Origin Cutoff is next Tuesday (Feb 17), the following week will have the final Policy Cutoff (Wed, Feb 25) with the final Fiscal Cutoff the following week (Mon, March 2)
- There are a couple things that are a part of the budget conversation outside of the proposed Supplemental Budget from Governor Ferguson (released in December)
- The WA Caseload Forecast Council met and released updated forecasts on Feb 11. You can review the summary here. Why is this important? The forecast council reports on all of Washington State’s entitlement caseloads including WA College Grant, College Bound, ECEAP and more. When caseloads increase, this has impact on the budgets.
- The WA State Economic & Revenue Forecast Council will release their updated revenue forecasts next week (we are hearing Monday, Feb 16) Revenue collection help determine the updated level of funds the legislature has available. Note: budget writers have been meeting for weeks to comb through the proposed supplemental budgets.
- Bills that carry fiscal notes will also be in consideration in budget negotiations. New/updated policies may have impacts on the budget.
- The House Supplemental Budget is likely to be released Feb 22/23 with a public hearing on Feb 23. The Senate has not stated when, but be anticipated around this time as well. Get your budget testimony ready!
Bill Alerts & Updates
SB 5872/ HB 2159: Establishing the preK promise account
- SB 5872: Passed from the Senate floor on Feb 11. passed; yeas, 46; nays, 3; absent, 0; excused, 0.
- HB 2159: Referred to Rules. Would need to be passed from the House floor by Feb 17.
SB 5500: Defining the cost of quality child care for the biennial survey.
2025 title: Modernizing reimbursement rates for the working connections child care program.
- Scheduled for a public hearing in the House Committee on Appropriations at 4:00 PM. We recommend signing in PRO
- Passed from the Senate floor with a striking amendment and will go to the House. Bill primarily provides a definition of “cost of quality child care” based on previous work by the Early Educator Design Team and DCYF.
HB 2688: Providing adjustments to the early support for infants and toddlers program.
- Referred to Rules 2 Review. Note: Bills like this may not be subject to cutoffs.
- De-couples Early Supports for Infants and Toddlers (ESIT) from the preschool multiplier from K-12 system and reduces funding by about 17%.
HB 2689: Concerning the working connections child care program.
- Referred to Appropriations. Note: Bills like this may not be subject to cutoffs.
- Caps Working Connections Child Care (WCCC) Subsidy to 33,000 families and establishes provider rates at the 75 percentile of the 2024 Market Rate Survey.
Note: Looking for more across early learning? We highly recommend you sign up for Start Early WA’s Notes From Olympia. Start Early WA provides excellent weekly updates (and some fun legislative trivia) Updates are also available on their website here.
SB 6089: Increasing coordination and alignment throughout the P20W system.
- Moved from the Rules committee. Must have a floor vote by Feb 17.
- LEV hosted an informational webinar yesterday. You can find the recording here.
- Goal is to create a better aligned and cohesive P20W system. The bill would be funded through philanthropic partnerships. It does two things: contract with a nonprofit to establish the current landscape in the state and a statewide advisory committee for key stakeholders to come up with a vision of what our P20W system could look like. And work with a nonprofit for a dashboard for an early learning to workforce dashboard.
SB 6260/ HB 2676: Implementing efficiencies and programming changes in public education.
- SB 6260 passed from committee with no amendments. Referred to Ways and Means. House companion bill HB 2676 has been introduced and referred to House Appropriations. Not yet scheduled for a hearing. Bills like this may not be subject to cutoffs as budget writers look at available options. .
- NOTE: Updated one-pager from SBCTC here about the impact of Running Start. You can also learn more about other dual credit efforts. The College in the High School Alliance updates here.
SB 6052/HB 2570:Establishing a statewide digital transcript data-sharing environment.
- Placed in Senate Rules after passage out of the Senate Ways & Means Committee. Must be passed from the Floor by February 17.
- Authorizes the Washington School Information Processing Cooperative to develop, maintain, and govern 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.
- Requires school districts, charter schools, state-tribal education compact schools, and public institutions of higher education to participate in the statewide digital transcript data-sharing environment.
- Allows private four-year not-for-profit institutions of higher education in Washington to participate in the statewide digital transcript data-sharing environment.
SB 5828/ HB 2567:Concerning the Washington college grant and college bound scholarship program for students attending private four-year not-for-profit institutions of higher education in Washington.
- SB 5828 is currently on second reading by Rules Committee. Must have a floor vote by February 17.
- Scheduled for the floor with a floor amendment. Proposed amendment maintains maintains that the maximum Washington College Grant award for students attending private four-year not-for-profit institutions is 50 percent of the average of awards for the same academic year granted to students at the public research universities in Washington starting in academic year 2026-27.
- In Senate Ways and Means, a proposed substitute was offered and adopted. The proposed substitute does the below:
- For the Washington College Grant, changes the maximum award for a student attending a four-year not-for-profit institution to 90 percent of the average award for the same academic year for students attending regional institutions and the state college, starting in academic year 2026-27.
- For College Bound Scholarship, changes the maximum award for a student attending a four-year not-for-profit institution to 90 percent of the average award for the same academic year for students attending regional institutions and the state college, starting in academic year 2027-28.
- HB 2567 had a public hearing in the House Postsecondary Education & Workforce Committee but did not meet the policy cutoff.
SB 5931/HB 2311: Concerning workforce education investment accountability and oversight board administrative changes.
- SB 5931 passed from the Senate floor on February 10. Passed; yeas, 47; nays, 2; absent, 0; excused, 0
- HB 2311: Passed committee and has been referred to Rules.
- SB 5931 passed from committee and has been referred to Rules Committee for second reading.
- Request legislation from WSAC. Technical bill that puts in statute some process oriented items for the WEIA Board that have been developed over the last year.
- Will need to be heard and passed from the Senate/and or House floor by February 17.
SB 5963/HB 2586: Modifying funding for the passport to careers program and eligibility for the Washington college grant.
- SB 5963 has passed the floor of the Senate this evening. .P assed; yeas, 48; nays, 0; absent, 0; excused, 1
- Reminder of what the bill does:
- Directs the Office of Student Financial Assistance, within the Washington Student Achievement Council, to deposit all funds received for the Passport to Careers Program (PTC) into the State Financial Aid Account.
- Establishes that an individual eligible for the PTC qualifies as income eligible under the Washington College Grant.
- Amends the definition of financial need in the PTC to reference the United States Department of Education's student aid index calculation instead of a calculation based on the student's total family contribution.
SB 5841: Concerning the completion of postsecondary financial aid applications.
- Passed the Senate floor on February 11 with a substitute bill. Passed 49 yea, 0 nay, 0 excused.
- Directs that the universal high school and beyond plan platform must import financial aid application data maintained by the Washington student achievement council to provide an easy way to view the student's progress on financial aid applications.
- Adds the Washington Opportunity Scholarship to the list of programs about which students must be informed in their high school and beyond plans.
- The substitute bill clarifies that this does not make financial aid applications a graduation requirement.
Action is happening and will happen throughout the weekend. Check out the bill tracker for more bills (including more about the ones that didn’t meet cutoffs.
If you have any feedback on the bills listed or ones you are tracking, reach out!
SPECIAL NOTE: WSOS Scholarship applications are OPEN for two more weeks.
- The Baccalaureate Scholarship supports Washington students seeking a bachelor’s degree in STEM or health care. If selected for the scholarship, students could receive up to $22,500 in financial aid and access to mentorship, career training, and other services to help launch their career in Washington state. Opportunity Scholars can use the funds to cover tuition and other necessities, such as housing, transportation, food, and more.
- Applications due by 2/26 9 p.m. You can access the applicant webpage here and the toolkit to promote it here!
PARTNER SPOTLIGHT: Elevate Postsecondary Partnership
Amy Ly, Director of Postsecondary Access
Elevate WA/United Way Blue Mountains
- We were joined briefly by Elevate to share more about their great work in the Southeast WA region and beyond. Their work in postsecondary partnerships though Elevate at the United Way of Blue Mountains works to “build strong educational pipelines that nurture and empower all students from cradle to career, ensuring every student has the opportunity to reach their full potential.”
- Please see the attached Slide Deck for more!
Weekly Action Alerts:
Action alerts and bills to watch for the upcoming week.Note: Next week will consist primarily of floor action. You can also refer to the attached bill tracker.
Take action on any legislation here: https://app.leg.wa.gov/csi/
Wednesday (2/18)
House Appropriations
Defining the cost of quality child care for the biennial survey
Take action here.
Note: Many bills have not yet been scheduled.
Committee Calendar
Standing committee calendars of relevant education and fiscal committees. Find all legislative committees here
Week of Feb 14-Feb 20 Highlights
- Weekend floor action begins! Lots of bills must move from their House of Origin before the cutoff on Tuesday, February 17. Follow House Floor Calendars and Senate Floor Calendars.
- Schedules are
- Monday, February 16 is Presidents Day. While many have the day off, the Legislature will still be in session.
- Committees start back up after Tuesday with many committees still determining their bills on the schedule. Be sure to check out the links below for the most up to date information.
SATURDAY (Feb 14)
Possible House Floor Action
Follow House Floor Calendars
Possible Senate Floor Action
Follow Senate Floor Calendars.
SUNDAY (Feb 15)
Possible House Floor Action
Follow House Floor Calendars
Possible Senate Floor Action
Follow Senate Floor Calendars.
MONDAY
9:00 AM
House Floor Action
Follow House Floor Calendars
10:00 AM
Senate Floor Action
Follow Senate Floor Calendars.
TUESDAY (House of Origin Cutoff)
9:00 AM
House Floor Action
Follow House Floor Calendars
10:00 AM
Senate Floor Action
Follow Senate Floor Calendars.
WEDNESDAY
10:30 AM
Senate Early Learning & K12 Education Committee
10:30 AM
House Education Committee
1:30 PM
Senate Higher Education & Workforce Development Committee
1:30 PM
House Early Learning & Human Services Committee
1:30 PM
House Postsecondary Education & Workforce Development Committee
4:00 PM
House Appropriations Committee
THURSDAY
8:00 AM
House Education Committee
10:30 AM
Senate Early Learning & K12 Education Committee
1:30 PM
Senate Higher Education & Workforce Development Committee
1:30 PM
House Capital Budget Committee
4:00 PM
Senate Ways and Means Committee
4:00 PM
House Appropriations Committee
FRIDAY
8:00 AM
House Early Learning & Human Services Committee
9:55 AM
House Floor Action
Follow House Floor Calendars
12:30 PM
Possible Senate Floor Action
Follow Senate Floor Calendars.
(Draft) 2026 Legislative Session Cut Off Calendar
Draft cut off dates (must be adopted when session begins)
January 12
2026 Legislative Session Begins
February 4
Policy Committee Cutoff (House of Origin) Except House fiscal committees and Senate Ways & Means and Transportation committees.
February 9
Fiscal Committee Cutoff (House of Origin)
February 17
House of Origin Cutoff. Last day to consider bills in the house of origin (5 p.m.).
February 25
Policy Committee Cutoff - Opposite House. Except House fiscal committees and Senate Ways & Means and Transportation committees.
March 2
Fiscal Committee Cutoff - Opposite House
March 6
Opposite House Cutoff. Until 5 p.m., last day to consider opposite house bills with the exception of budgets
March 12
Sine Die
What’s next?
- We will host Friday calls throughout the session and as always, will send comprehensive notes after.
- The Bill Tracker and Weekly Notes will be available on Washington STEM’s Advocacy page. Our tracker includes a wide swath of bills throughout the session that align with our shared goals.
Invite a colleague, changemaker, or leader to join the 2026 Washington STEM Advocacy Coalition, receive notifications and information about future policy calls, and get updates on advocacy efforts. Sign up here.
The WA STEM Advocacy Coalition exists to collect and disseminate information pertaining to statewide education policy. We exist to provide feedback and evidence-based recommendations to the Legislature. Joining our weekly informational sessions to hear updates on our policy and advocacy does not in itself constitute lobbying
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