This bill amends RCW 28A.410.044, 28A.320.280, and 28A.310.235 and adds new sections to chapter 28A.310 RCW. It revises and clarifies roles and definitions for school psychologists and school social workers, specifying domains of practice for school psychologists and listing services and responsibilities for school social workers (including counseling, crisis intervention, behavioral consultation, trauma-informed care, suicide risk assessment/management, case management, and support for IEPs and 504 plans). It also explicitly assigns these professionals roles within comprehensive student support and multitiered systems, and recommends that routine data input and tracking be done by nonlicensed staff where possible. The bill creates a procedural and workforce development change by allowing, subject to specific appropriations, each educational service district (ESD) to coordinate placements and supervision in public schools for social worker associates licensed under RCW 18.225.145, MSW candidates, and post-master social work professionals, and by requiring coordination with local mental health agencies, school districts, accredited university programs, and behavioral health agencies. The professional educator standards board (PESB) must adopt rules to implement the new placement section, and clinical supervision must meet supervisor requirements set by the Department of Health. RCW 28A.310.235 is amended to add duties for an ESD-employed staff person focused on educator recruitment, outreach, and coordination; this person must reflect and understand the local community. Affected entities include PESB, ESDs, local school districts, local mental health and behavioral health agencies, accredited MSW programs, the Department of Health, and various state education and workforce agencies. The placement authority and coordination are expressly contingent on appropriations; the bill does not include specific funding amounts. Important details not included in the extracted text are the exact appropriation amounts, the timing and content of PESB’s implementing rules, the full licensure requirements in RCW 18.225.145, and a clear definition or qualifications for the referenced "post-master" social work professionals.

If enacted, the bill formally defines and expands the roles of school social workers and school psychologists, directs educational service districts (ESDs) to coordinate placements and supervision for social work trainees and post-master social workers in schools, and requires the professional educator standards board (PESB) and the Department of Health to set implementing rules and supervision requirements. School districts, ESDs, PESB, local mental health agencies, accredited MSW programs, and trainees (social worker associates and MSW candidates) are most affected: ESDs may gain new coordination and recruiter/liaison duties and schools may get more in-school social work placements and clearly defined social worker responsibilities (counseling, crisis intervention, suicide risk assessment, IEP/504 work, discipline policy leadership), but these activities only occur if the Legislature provides specific funding. The practical changes likely increase responsibilities and potential costs for ESDs and PESB (rulemaking, hiring or assigning liaison/recruiter staff, coordinating supervision) and create new options for MSW candidates to work in schools under conditional certification, but implementation timing, scale, supervisor qualifications, and actual costs are unclear because the bill is contingent on unspecified appropriations and leaves key rule details and licensure specifics (including the referenced RCW 18.225.145 and the meaning of "post-master" positions) to be defined later.