The bill modifies existing law by amending RCW 43.06B.040 to set detailed confidentiality rules for the Office of the Education Ombuds. It makes records and files related to complaints confidential and expressly exempt from public disclosure under chapter 42.56 RCW, requires the ombuds to treat all information received in the course of duties as confidential, and limits disclosure to what is necessary to perform the office's duties or as otherwise required or permitted by state or federal law. The amendment bars identifying information about students, complainants, and other individuals from subpoena, discovery, or other compulsory process except when the individual gives written consent, when a legislative subpoena is issued for an investigation into alleged neglect of duty or misconduct by the ombuds or the office and the identifying information is necessary, or when the governor requests an inquiry into alleged neglect of duty or misconduct and the identifying information is necessary. A complainant may request access in writing to their own complaint and related office records; the ombuds must provide those records with identifying information of other individuals and privileged or confidential information redacted, and such a request does not count as written consent nor make the records public. The bill permits the ombuds to disclose deidentified data, without written consent, to the Education Data Center established under RCW 43.41.400, consistent with applicable security and confidentiality requirements. It defines "identifying information" as information that alone or in combination is linked or reasonably linkable to a specific individual and would allow a reasonable person in the school community, lacking personal knowledge, to identify that individual. The amendment names the Office of the Education Ombuds, the Education Data Center, the Governor, and the Legislature as affected actors. The extracted text does not include an effective date, any other statutory changes, appropriations, or additional enforcement mechanisms.

If enacted, the bill makes almost everything the education ombuds receives about complaints—including student and complainant identities—off-limits to the public and to subpoenas or discovery, unless the person consents or a legislative or governor inquiry into alleged ombuds misconduct needs the identifying information. Complainants can still get copies of their own complaint records after the ombuds redacts other people’s identities and other legally protected material, and the ombuds may share only deidentified data with the state education data center without needing consent. The groups most affected are the office of the education ombuds (which will need processes to keep records confidential, redact files, and produce deidentified datasets), students and complainants (who gain stronger privacy protections and limited access to their own files), and the legislature and governor (who retain narrow powers to obtain identifying information for investigations). The office may incur administrative costs and new record-handling responsibilities to meet these rules; the bill text does not say when the changes take effect or whether any funding or enforcement steps are provided.