The bill adds a new section to chapter 41.56 RCW that extends collective bargaining coverage to persons who are enrolled in an academic or certificate program on any campus of Central Washington University, Eastern Washington University, Western Washington University, and The Evergreen State College. It defines enrollment for bargaining purposes during winter, spring, or summer breaks: a person is considered enrolled during a break if they are employed over the break and were enrolled in the quarter or semester immediately before or after the break. The bill also excludes from this "employee" definition persons already covered by specific existing RCWs and chapters (it cites several provisions but does not describe who those excluded employees are). It limits the appropriate bargaining unit to “a bargaining unit of all employees covered by this section” and bars a bargaining unit that includes employees from more than one of the listed institutions. Certain subjects are removed from bargaining scope for these institutions: termination for failing to meet academic requirements (as determined by the four named institutions), the amount of tuition or fees (though tuition and fee remission and waiver remain within scope), the academic calendar, and the number of students admitted to a particular class or class section. On compensation, the bill makes compensation terms in collective bargaining agreements subject to legislative limits: they must not exceed amounts or percentages set by the legislature in the appropriations act, but the four institutions may provide additional compensation to student employees beyond those legislative amounts. If a legislative modification to the appropriations act affects a compensation provision, the parties must immediately enter collective bargaining to agree on a replacement provision. The act contains an emergency clause and takes effect immediately upon passage. The extracted text leaves some gaps: it references entities listed in RCW 41.56.020 but does not reproduce that list, it cites several exclusions without describing who they cover, it does not specify a new section number, and it does not include details on enforcement, representation certification, grievance or arbitration procedures, or other collective bargaining mechanics.

If enacted, students who are employed and also enrolled in academic or certificate programs at Central, Eastern, Western, and The Evergreen State College would be covered by chapter 41.56 for collective bargaining, with enrollment during winter, spring, or summer breaks treated as continuous if they work through the break and are enrolled in the quarter or semester before or after. Bargaining would be limited to a unit composed only of the employees covered at a single institution (no multi-school units), certain topics would be off-limits (for example termination for not meeting academic requirements as those schools define it, tuition levels, academic calendars, and class admission counts), and pay provisions in agreements generally could not exceed amounts set in the legislature’s appropriations act—although the four institutions may choose to pay student employees more than those legislative limits. If the legislature later changes the appropriations act in a way that affects agreed compensation, the parties must immediately bargain to replace the affected provisions; the bill takes effect immediately upon passage. Key practical effects fall most directly on the four universities and their student employees: student workers would gain formal bargaining coverage but with narrower subject matter and limits tied to legislative funding, which could reduce bargaining leverage over compensation and academic policies while giving institutions the option to add pay above legislative amounts (which could raise institutional payroll costs if they choose to do so). The text omits details about which specific employees are excluded under the referenced statutes, which entities listed in RCW 41.56.020 are implicated, and how representation, enforcement, grievance, or certification processes will operate, so those implementation details remain unclear.