Bill > SB5978

This bill establishes the Washington guaranteed admissions program, aiming to make higher education more accessible by simplifying the application process and ensuring that students are notified about college opportunities. Starting in the 2027-28 academic year, Washington's public four-year universities and colleges will participate in this program, with institutions needing to report specific reasons if they choose to opt out. The program requires participating institutions to streamline their general admissions applications to include only essential information and to establish clear eligibility criteria for the guaranteed admissions program, which they must annually review and report to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. Furthermore, beginning with the 2027-28 school year, school districts, charter schools, and other educational providers will use a secure data-sharing system managed by the Washington School Information Processing Cooperative (WSIPC) to transfer transcript data for eligible 11th and 12th graders to participating higher education institutions, with WSIPC not charging extra fees for this service. While this data sharing is intended to be seamless, students and families will have the option to opt out of this data transfer.

Budget and Finance, Education

https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=5978&Year=2025&Initiative=false