2026 WaSHINGTOn State Legislative Session​

The Washington State Legislature is the state's lawmaking body, where elected Senators and Representatives come together to create and pass laws that shape the daily lives of Washingtonians.

The citizen Legislature meets annually on the second Monday in January in the Capitol building in Olympia. In odd-numbered years — the budget year — the Legislature meets for 105 days, and in even-numbered years for 60 days.

The 2026 regular session begins on Monday January 12, 2026. It is a short session, lasting up to 60-days, with an expected end date of Thursday March 12, 2026. Prefiling for the 2026 session begins on Monday December 1, 2025.


Kick off the 2026 Legislative Session with SCPTSA!

Thursday, Nov 13, 2025
6:30–7:30 pm

With Seattle School Board Director Rankin—former SCPTSA Legislative Chair & current School Board Legislative Liaison—and Washington State PTA Region 6 Director Natalya Yudovsky—2025 WSPTA Outstanding Advocate.

We are 90 days away from the 2026 Washington State Legislative Session!
Join SCPTSA for a discussion about how we organize and advocate during the session and what support is available to PTA leaders.

Learn more/register
  • SCPTSA advocates under National PTA & Washington State PTA (WSPTA) to make every child’s potential a reality. WSPTA & SCPTSA engage and empower families and communities to advocate for all children by organizing members across Washington state and Seattle through priorities selected by membership.

    WSPTA Top 5 Legislative Priorities for 2025–26

    1. Closing the Funding Gaps

    2. Addressing the Student Mental Health Crisis

    3. Addressing Funding, Inclusion, and Supports in Special Education

    4. Preventing and Reducing Gun Violence and Suicide

    5. Expanding School Construction Funding Options

    SCPTSA is also informed by

    • Seattle Public Schools Legislative Priorities (TBD)

    • The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction’s Legislative Budget Requests (TBD)

  • WA State Legislature District Finder by Address

    36th Legislative District
    (Northwest Seattle)
    Representative Liz Berry, Chair, Labor & Workplace Standards Committee
    Senator Noel Frame, Vice Chair, Human Services, and Ways & Means, Finance Committees.
    Representative Julia Reed, Vice Chair, Transportation

    46th Legislative District
    (Northeast Seattle)
    Representative Darya Farivar, Vice Chair, House Civil Rights & Judiciary Committee
    Representative Gerry Pollet, Member, Appropriations, Post Secondary Education & Workforce, Education and Committees
    Senator Javier Valdez, Chair, State Government, Tribal Affairs & Elections, and Vice Chair, Joint Administrative Rules Review Committees

    43rd Legislative District
    (Central Seattle)
    Representative Nicole Macri, Vice Chair, Appropriations Committee
    Senator Jamie Pedersen, Majority Leader
    Representative Shaun Scott, Vice Chair, Labor & Workplace Standards Committee

    34th Legislative District
    (Southwest Seattle)
    Senator Emily Alvarado, Vice Chair, Housing Committee
    Representative Joe Fitzgibbon, Majority Leader
    Representative Brianna Thomas, Assistant Majority Whip

    37th Legislative District
    (Southeast Seattle)
    Senator Rebecca Saldaña, Chair, Labor & Commerce Committee
    Representative Sharon Tomiko Santos, Chair, Education Committee
    Representative Chipalo Street, Majority Caucus Vice Chair

  • 2025 Selected Reports

    K–12 Funding Equity Workgroup 2025 Annual Report
    The 2025 Legislature established the K–12 Funding Equity Workgroup to analyze K–12 education funding formulas and revenue sources and explore options for revisions to the funding formula that are responsive to student needs, including economic, demographic, and geographic differences in student and community populations. This report provides a summary of the Workgroup’s progress through October 2025, and State Superintendent Chris Reykdal’s recommendations for the Legislature on actions for the 2026 Legislative Session.
    Authorizing legislation: House Bill 2049 (2025)

    High School and Beyond Plan Platform
    OSPI has formulated a comprehensive set of recommendations aimed at expanding the universal online High School and Beyond Plan (HSBP) platform in Washington state to engage students from the fifth grade onwards. Additionally, the report discusses future considerations regarding resource allocation, including the potential involvement of elementary school counselors in facilitating and supporting this expanded access. 
    Authorizing legislation: RCW 28A.230.215

    Statewide Individualized Education Program System Feasibility Study Report
    In accordance with legislative direction, OSPI conducted a feasibility study to evaluate the implementation of a statewide Individualized Education Program (IEP) system. The study explored the current state of IEP systems in Washington, identified challenges to delivering high-quality, equitable special education services, assessed potential vendors and costs, and a recommended path forward to improve outcomes for students with disabilities across the state.
    Authorizing legislation: SB 5950, Sec. 501(2)(d)

    UPDATE: Reducing Restraint & Eliminating Isolation
    This report summarizes activities undertaken by OSPI’s Reducing Restraint & Eliminating Isolation (RREI) project during fiscal year 2025, as mandated through 2023’s biennial operating budget and 2024’s supplemental operating budget. Demonstration projects incorporate “Pilot site” districts that strategically engage in the process of building systems of support, and “Demonstration site” districts that serve as learning communities to share their stories and highlight exemplary practices within these systems. Their outcomes have revealed promising practices and effective strategies for improving school safety and reducing the use of restraint and isolation. 71% of project sites decreased incidents of restraint and isolation in school year 2024-25, as compared to the previous school year. This decrease in incidents was statistically significant. 
    Authorizing legislation: ESSB 5950, Sec. 501(4)(mm)

    UPDATE: Student Transportation Allocation Determination
    OSPI annually submits a report outlining the method used in determining the coefficients for each site characteristic used to establish the transportation allocation for the following year. The 2025–26 regression analysis for coefficients will use data elements from the previous school year. The coefficients are then used in the Student Transportation Allocation Reporting System (STARS) formula which will determine the 2025–26 school year allocation. 
    Authorizing legislation: RCW 28A.160.180(4)

  • Did you know that you can watch or listen to Legislative Work Sessions and Public Hearings via TVW? And most are recorded and become available approximately two hours after the close of the hearing or session. Check out all the ways to access TVW.

  • Send a Message About a Bill
    After searching for a bill, click the dark green "Comment on a Bill" button on the Bill Summary Page to send a message to your elected official and share your opinion. You can request a response to your message if you wish.

  • Many bills introduced in the Legislature will receive a public hearing, where citizens are given a chance to present their opinions on proposed legislation.

    There are three ways to participate in a public committee hearing:

    1. Testify in a Committee Hearing
      Duri​ng the Legislative Session, you can register to testify in a​ committee hearing in-person or remotely through Zoom. 

      If you frequently testify on bills, you may find it useful to create a Legislative Account.​​ An account allows you to autofill sign-in information and view and edit your sign-in history.

    2. Submit Written Testimony to a Committee
      Written testimony has a 5000 character limit. You will need to copy and paste your testimony into a form box. 2 MB of supporting info can also be uploaded.

    3. Note Your Position on a Bill for Legislative Record
      If you wish, you can choose to simply have your position noted — Pro (for the bill), Con (against the bill), or Other (there is more nuance to the decision).

    To sign-up to participate in a committee hearing,

    1. Start from the Homepage of the WA State Legislature website, enter the bill number, and click the “search” button.

    2. Once on the Bill Summary Page, click the dark green “sign-up to testify/submit written testimony” button. If you do not see this button (directly below the “Send a comment on this bill…” button) there may not be opportunities to participate.

    3. Once on the Committee Sign In Page, select the bill/agenda item you would like to comment on and a list of options to participate will be listed below.

    4. Select the option you would like, fill out a simple form (your street address is NOT required), and click the “Submit Registration” button.

    Alternatively, you can start from the Committee Sign In Page on the WA State Legislature website, however, you will need the following info to navigate to the registration page…

    1. The chamber (House or Senate) where the public hearing will take place

    2. The committee the bill has been assigned to

    3. The Meeting date and time

    4. The agenda item/bill you would like to comment on

  • The Washington State Legislature is dedicated to fostering an inclusive environment where everyone can fully participate in the legislative process. Requests for onsite spoken language and ASL interpretation should be submitted at least 48 hours in advance by completing our Accessibility Request Form and coordinating with the ADA Coordinators in the House or Senate. The more advance notice you are able to provide, the higher likelihood that your request can be fulfilled.

    For complete information, visit the accessibility information page.

    Any legislative number can be reached via the state Telephone Relay Service at 800-833-6384 (voice) or 800-833-6388 (TTY).

  • The 2026 regular session begins on Monday January 12, 2026. It is a short session, lasting up to 60-days, with an expected end date of Thursday March 12, 2026.

    December 1, 2025 – Prefiling begins.

    January 12 – First day of session.

    TBD – Policy Committee Cutoff. Last day to read in committee reports in house of origin, except House fiscal committees and Senate Ways & Means and Transportation committees.

    TBD – Fiscal Committee Cutoff. Last day to read in committee reports from House fiscal committees and Senate Ways & Means and Transportation committees in house of origin.

    TBD – House of Origin Cutoff. Last day to consider bills in house of origin (5 pm).

    TBD – Policy Committee Cutoff - Opposite House. Last day to read in committee reports from opposite house, except House fiscal committees and Senate Ways & Means and Transportation committees.

    TBD – Fiscal Committee Cutoff - Opposite House. Last day to read in opposite house committee reports from House fiscal committees and Senate Ways & Means and Transportation committees.

    TBD – Opposite House Cutoff. Last day to consider opposite house bills (5 pm).

    After 5 pm on the 94th day, only initiatives and alternatives to initiatives, budgets and matters necessary to implement budgets, matters that affect state revenue, messages pertaining to amendments, matters of differences between the two houses, and matters incident to the interim and to the closing of the session may be considered.

    March 12 – Last day allowed for regular session under the state constitution.

    April 4 – The last day the governor has to take action on a bill.

    June 11 – 90-day effective date. Legislation becomes effective 90 days after adjournment of the session unless otherwise specified in the bill text.

    If the 2026 session ends before the 60th day, the governor action date and 90-day effective date will change accordingly.

 

Do you have a question?
Want to join the SCPTSA Advocacy Committee?
Please reach out to secretary@scptsa.org