This bill amends several existing higher education governance statutes (RCW 28B.20.100; 28B.30.100; 28B.35.100; 28B.40.100; and 28B.50.102), adds a new legislative intent section, creates an emergency clause, and takes effect immediately. It is a procedural governance change, not a criminal or penalty statute. The amendments specify board sizes, require inclusion of a student member for boards and a faculty member for the University of Washington and Washington State University boards, set appointment and term rules (regular members serve six-year terms beginning October 1; student members generally serve one-year terms beginning July 1; where specified, faculty regents serve three-year terms), and set quorum numbers (six for UW and WSU, five for regional universities and Evergreen). Candidate lists for student appointments must contain 3–5 names and for faculty at UW and WSU 2–5 names. WSU regents must post a bond of at least $5,000 before assuming duties, with the university paying bond fees. The bill imposes participation limits: except for the bill’s carved-out exception described as the "initial selection and hiring of the position of [president]" (term not defined in the provided text), student and, where applicable, faculty regents or trustees must excuse themselves from participating in or voting on matters involving hiring, discipline, or tenure of faculty or other personnel; college district student trustees must also abstain from matters concerning collective bargaining agreements. The bill allows college district boards, by majority vote, to create a sixth trustee position filled by a student chosen by the governor from a 3–5 candidate list submitted by student governments; student eligibility requirements and disqualification for loss of full-time status are specified. The new section states legislative intent that presidential hiring is a matter of public interest and that selection should reflect academic partnership with faculty, staff, and students, and the act is declared necessary for immediate effect. Two gaps are noted in the provided text: the phrase "initial selection and hiring" is used as an exception but is not defined here, and the intent language referring to "staff regents and trustees" is not reflected in the specific amendments provided for staff participation or rights.

If enacted, the bill makes the boards that govern public colleges and universities include specified student and (at the research universities) faculty members who must be full‑time and in good standing, sets short one‑year terms for those student seats, requires student candidate lists of 3–5 people (and faculty lists of 2–5 at UW and WSU), and generally bars those student and faculty board members from taking part in or voting on hiring, discipline, or tenure decisions for faculty or staff except for an undefined "initial" presidential hire. Practically, that reduces the ability of student and faculty regents/trustees to influence most personnel decisions, creates a requirement that college districts may add an optional student trustee seat selected from a student government list, and imposes a small administrative cost on WSU to pay bond fees for regents (bond penal sum at least $5,000). Student trustees who stop being full‑time or in good standing must be replaced, so student governments will need to maintain candidate lists and replacements. The groups most affected are university and college boards, student governments, faculty senates, university administrations (which will handle candidate lists and, at WSU, bond fees), and the governor/Senate who appoint and confirm members. Responsibilities for managing appointments, tracking student/faculty eligibility, and executing replacements increase; student and faculty board members lose voting power on routine personnel matters, which may shift decisionmaking toward the other board members. Two key uncertainties remain in the text provided: what exactly counts as the "initial selection and hiring" exception for presidential searches, and how the stated intent to include "staff regents and trustees" is meant to change practice, since staff participation rules are not specified here. The act would take effect immediately if enacted.