This bill amends RCW 28A.600.420 to revise discipline for students who bring or display firearms on public elementary and secondary school premises, on public school-provided transportation, or in facility areas used exclusively by public schools. It creates a minimum one-year expulsion requirement for a student who carried or possessed a firearm in those locations, and authorizes suspension or expulsion for up to one year when a student, acting with malice, displays an instrument that appears to be a firearm. The chief administrator of the affected school entity may modify a suspension or expulsion on a case-by-case basis. The amendment adds procedural requirements and clarifications: school districts must provide the disciplined student an opportunity to receive educational services as required by RCW 28A.600.015 during suspension or expulsion (other listed entities are not prevented from doing so except when acting as institutional education providers under chapter 28A.190 RCW); after the period of suspension or expulsion, schools or districts may prohibit or limit return, deny readmission, or restrict extracurricular participation (for school districts such decisions must be made by the school board or other governing board on recommendation of the superintendent or administrator); parents or guardians may request board reconsideration, and reconsideration decisions are final. The bill requires a reengagement meeting under RCW 28A.600.022 to address full-time reenrollment at the original school versus comparable services elsewhere, allows discussion of staged readmission, and requires reevaluation of the reengagement plan with the student and parents or guardians at least every six months until full-time reenrollment at the original setting. The section is to be interpreted consistently with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and applies to school districts, charter schools, state-tribal education compact schools, the state school for the blind, the Washington center for deaf and hard of hearing youth, and educational service districts, with specified exceptions for authorized rifle-related activities. The bill defines "firearm" by reference to 18 U.S.C. §921 and RCW 9.41.010. The bill metadata indicates it was prefiled 01/05/26, read first time 01/12/26, and referred to the Committee on Education. The provided text appears to amend only RCW 28A.600.420; it is unclear from the extracted material whether the bill contains additional sections or provisions beyond this single amended section.

If enacted, the bill makes most students found with a firearm on school grounds, on school transportation, or in areas used exclusively by schools subject to a mandatory expulsion of at least one year, and allows suspension or expulsion up to one year when a student maliciously displays something that appears to be a firearm. School leaders can make case-by-case modifications, but school districts must offer excluded students an opportunity to continue receiving educational services, hold a reengagement meeting that compares return to the original school versus other services, and reevaluate the reengagement plan with parents at least every six months until full-time reenrollment. After the exclusion period, schools and boards may bar return, deny readmission, or limit activities, with parents able to request reconsideration; the rule applies to districts, charter and state-tribal schools, the state school for the blind, the Washington center for deaf and hard of hearing youth, and educational service districts, and it exempts certain authorized rifle activities. The practical effects will fall heaviest on students who bring or imitate firearms and on school districts and governing boards, which will face more consistent requirements to provide alternative instruction, hold reengagement meetings, create six‑month reviews, and run reconsideration processes—all of which can increase administrative work and program costs. School administrators gain discretion to modify penalties but must coordinate with boards for final readmission decisions, and special education rules under IDEA must still be followed, which could change how exclusions apply for some students; the bill text provided does not show any other sections that might alter these duties.