This bill requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to appoint an advisory committee to develop indoor temperature standards for public school facilities, including a recommended maximum indoor temperature, and to report recommendations, draft implementing legislation, and an implementation timeline to the governor and legislature. The superintendent must also prepare cost estimates for the committee’s recommendations and report those to the governor and legislature. If the legislature enacts standards, the superintendent may request appropriations and the creation of grant programs to assist schools with operational and capital costs. The advisory committee must be appointed and develop recommendations by September 1, 2025, report by January 1, 2026, and cost estimates must be reported by July 1, 2026. The bill adds a new section to chapter 28A.150 RCW (new section number not specified in the provided text) and amends RCW 28A.150.290 to expand the superintendent’s rulemaking authority for administering specified education laws. The amendment allows conditions including “excessive heat” to justify permitting districts to receive state basic education moneys when they cannot meet required instructional days or hours; it also requires the superintendent to reduce paperwork and streamline information requests related to administering the listed statutes. Section 3 (the amendment to RCW 28A.150.290) takes effect July 1, 2026. The bill defines “excessive heat” for the amended subsection of RCW 28A.150.290 as a temperature or heat index determined by the superintendent in a manner consistent with National Weather Service guidance, and defines a “foreseeable condition” for the purposes of that subsection as a condition a reasonably prudent person would have anticipated prior to August 1 of the preceding school year. Affected agencies and groups named include OSPI, the Department of Health, the Environmental Justice Council, the State Building Code Council, various education associations, school districts, and the National Weather Service. The document does not specify the new RCW section number, the specific temperature or heat-index thresholds, any actual funding amounts or grant program details, nor the specific rule text or criteria that would govern cancellation of school days due to excessive heat.

If enacted, school districts will likely get a clearer path to pause or alter in-person instructional schedules during extreme heat without losing state basic education funding, because the superintendent will be authorized to recognize "excessive heat" (using National Weather Service guidance) as a condition that can justify such relief. Districts will also face new expectations to meet indoor temperature standards once those are developed, which could create added operational and capital costs for cooling or building upgrades; however, the superintendent can seek legislative funding and grants to help districts cover those expenses, and OSPI is required to provide cost estimates to the governor and legislature to support those requests. The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction will take on concrete new duties: convening an advisory committee by September 2025, delivering temperature recommendations and draft legislation by January 2026, reporting cost estimates by July 2026, and streamlining paperwork. Departments and groups tied to health, building codes, maintenance, and school governance are likely to be involved in implementing any standards. Key details remain open here: the specific temperature thresholds, the amount of any funding or grants, the exact rule criteria for cancelling or shortening instructional time, and the final statutory placement of the new section are not specified in the provided facts.