House Bill 2054 amends three existing statutes (RCW 28B.50.090; RCW 28B.35.390; RCW 28B.40.390) to add an operational staffing limit and a placement-information requirement. For community and technical colleges, regional universities, and The Evergreen State College the bill requires that each institution not employ more than one full‑time equivalent (FTE) employee for every six FTE enrolled students, with both enrollment and employee FTEs averaged over the academic year. The bill also keeps existing board powers in RCW 28B.50.090 and adds a requirement that colleges use multiple measures for precollege course placement and post all available placement options on their website and in admissions materials. This is a modification of existing law imposing an administrative/operational constraint (a staffing ratio) and a procedural requirement about placement information. It is not creating a new criminal offense, changing criminal penalties, or specifying enforcement penalties or detailed calculation methods beyond the requirement to average FTEs over the academic year. Affected entities named in the text include the state board for community and technical colleges, community and technical colleges and their boards of trustees, regional universities and their presidents, The Evergreen State College and its president, the Office of Financial Management, and state treasurers referenced in existing fund advance provisions. The provided text references other statutes for definitions and procedures (for example RCW 28B.50.020 and chapter 43.88 RCW) that are not included here; the bill also retains a historical treasurer advance provision dated to July 1, 1982 without explanation in the excerpt. The excerpt does not include any fiscal impact analysis, enforcement mechanisms or penalties for noncompliance, or detailed methods for calculating FTE beyond the academic‑year averaging requirement; those matters may be governed by the other referenced statutes or additional provisions not included in the provided text.

If enacted, community and technical colleges, the regional universities, and The Evergreen State College would need to manage staffing so that total full-time equivalent employees do not exceed one FTE per six FTE students when averaged over the academic year. That responsibility falls to college presidents and boards and will likely force them to change hiring plans, shift budget priorities, and manage enrollment or course offerings to stay within the ratio; colleges will also be required to use multiple measures for precollege course placement and to post all placement options on their websites and in admissions materials. The parties most affected are college administrations, their boards, the state board for community and technical colleges, and the Office of Financial Management (which is referenced for enrollment projections/certification), with the state and college treasurers still operating the existing advance/reimbursement language. The bill text does not include enforcement mechanisms, penalties, detailed FTE calculation rules beyond annual averaging, or any fiscal impact analysis, so the exact costs, how compliance will be verified, and how programs or staffing will be prioritized remain unclear.