The bill adds a new section to chapter 28B.50 RCW that authorizes Washington community and technical colleges to distribute information outside their taxing district about "entirely online course offerings." It creates a new statutory permission allowing colleges to send unsolicited course and enrollment information beyond their district using methods such as digital advertising, email, direct mail, newspaper ads and inserts, and other mass-distribution methods. The text also allows colleges to prioritize and publicize to their own district residents courses and programs offered exclusively by neighboring districts, while expressly prohibiting colleges from competing with each other for enrollment. The bill is a procedural change creating a new statutory authority and restrictions for out-of-district outreach; it does not create a new crime or change criminal penalties. It includes legislative findings stating the Legislature intends this as a first step toward creating a virtual campus and to begin a conversation about establishing a virtual campus for all Washingtonians. The draft text provided does not define key terms such as "entirely online course offerings," "outside of their district," "citizens," or what constitutes "compete with each other for enrollment." It also does not include enforcement mechanisms, penalties, oversight, funding, implementation details, effective dates, or clarify whether outreach outside a district may include audiences outside Washington.

If enacted, community and technical colleges will be able to expand outreach beyond their districts by sending unsolicited mass communications (email, digital and print ads, direct mail, etc.) about courses that are offered entirely online. That is likely to increase marketing activity and could shift where students enroll—potentially raising tuition revenue for some colleges and increasing choice for residents who will receive more unsolicited information—while colleges may also steer their own residents toward exclusively online programs offered by neighboring districts. The institutions most affected are the community and technical colleges (they will decide whether to spend more on outreach and manage potential enrollment shifts), district residents and prospective students (who will get more outreach), and neighboring districts (whose programs may be promoted). Key implementation details are missing or unclear—terms like “entirely online” and “compete with each other for enrollment” are not defined, there is no stated enforcement or penalty, and no funding or dates are provided—so colleges will face uncertainty about how aggressively they can market and how this will be regulated.