This bill creates a new section in chapter 28B.77 RCW establishing confidentiality, retention, and limited data‑sharing rules for applications for state financial aid. It is a new statutory provision that exempts personally identifying and financial information in any alternative application for state financial aid (an application for postsecondary aid approved by "the council," and explicitly excluding the federal FAFSA) from public inspection and copying under chapter 42.56 RCW, sets a maximum records retention period, and restricts disclosure and interagency sharing except in specified circumstances. Under the proposal, applicant records and related records (including student numbers assigned by the council) must be retained no longer than one year after the end of a postsecondary institution’s award year unless there is an outstanding audit or appeal or another law requires longer retention. State agencies may not provide the described personally identifying or financial information to any other entity, including the federal government, except pursuant to a court order. The prohibition on sharing does not apply when the council shares only the information necessary to support or facilitate student enrollment under a binding data‑sharing agreement that bars further sharing. The council and institutions of higher education may not, absent a court order or a state or federal law that requires disclosure, disclose or reproduce those applicant records to any other entity. Affected parties named in the bill include the council (unnamed in the excerpt), state agencies, institutions of higher education, applicants to alternative state financial aid applications, and potential outside or federal recipients. The measure is identified as Substitute House Bill 2132 (H-3100.1) and was read for the first time on 01/23/26. The excerpt leaves several items unclear: the specific entity referred to as "the council" is not identified, the term "alternative application for state financial aid" is not defined beyond being an application approved by the council, the term "award year" is not defined, the exact section number added to chapter 28B.77 RCW is not given, and no enforcement mechanisms, penalties for noncompliance, or detailed audit/appeal procedures are included.

If enacted, applicants who use a council-approved alternative state financial aid form (not the FAFSA) would have their personal and financial information shielded from public records requests and generally barred from being shared outside state agencies and colleges, including with federal authorities, except by court order or where another law requires it. Institutions and the council would also be required to delete applicant records within one year after an institution’s award year unless an audit or appeal is active or a different law mandates longer retention, and they could share only the minimum data needed to support enrollment under a binding agreement that forbids further redistribution. The council, state agencies, and colleges would need to change record-keeping and disclosure practices, draft and monitor data-sharing agreements, and likely incur legal and administrative costs to comply with the new limits and retention timing; applicants would face lower risk of their aid application details becoming public or being passed to federal entities. Key details are unclear from the text provided—specifically which “council” is meant, what counts as an “alternative application,” how an “award year” is defined, and what enforcement or penalty mechanisms apply—so some implementation steps and costs are uncertain.