The bill creates a new Washington guaranteed admissions program and adds new sections to chapter 28B.10 RCW and chapter 28A.150 RCW. It requires participation beginning in the 2027-28 academic year by regional universities, the state college, and at least one campus of each state university unless an institution formally opts out. Institutions that opt out must report to the legislature under RCW 43.01.036 explaining the reason and describing other access initiatives. The bill imposes procedural requirements on participating institutions: beginning in 2027-28 they must simplify the general admissions application to include only necessary information, establish and annually review eligibility criteria for the program, and notify the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) of those criteria to enable data sharing. It requires use of the Washington School Information Processing Cooperative (WSIPC) statewide digital transcript data-sharing environment by WSIPC-member school districts, charter schools, state-tribal education compact schools, and institutional education providers for eligible 11thand 12th-grade students beginning in 2027-28; WSIPC must treat transcript transfer as a core membership function and not charge additional fees. By July 1, 2027 OSPI must work with WSIPC to create a process to facilitate required data transfers for non-WSIPC members without extra cost or requiring membership, and beginning in 2028-29 WSIPC shall work with participating institutions to facilitate transfers. Schools and providers must allow and notify families of an option to opt out of the described data sharing. Legally, the act creates a new program and makes procedural changes to admissions and student transcript data-sharing practices; it does not create a new crime or change criminal penalties. Affected parties include public four-year institutions, OSPI, WSIPC, school districts, charter and compact schools, institutional education providers, and students in grades 11 and 12. Important details are not provided in the extracted text: the specific institutions covered are not listed, the substantive eligibility criteria for guaranteed admissions are not included, the content and format of the simplified application and the exact data elements or mechanics of transcript transfer are not specified, and there is no information here about enforcement, funding, penalties, or the effective date of the act.

If enacted, public four-year colleges across the state will be asked to join a new guaranteed admissions program starting in the 2027-28 academic year, or else formally opt out and explain to the Legislature how they will still improve access. Participating schools will have to simplify their general admissions application, set and annually review specific eligibility rules, and share those rules with the state education office so high schools can identify eligible 11thand 12th-grade students. Local school districts, charter and state-tribal compact schools, and similar providers who are members of WSIPC will be required to send those students’ transcripts through WSIPC without extra fees, WSIPC must treat that transfer as a core function, and OSPI must create a no-cost way for non-WSIPC schools to make the same transfers by July 1, 2027; families may opt out of the data sharing and must be told about that option. This will likely increase administrative work for colleges (rewriting applications, setting and reporting eligibility criteria, and coordinating with OSPI and WSIPC) and for schools that must transmit transcripts, though WSIPC cannot charge additional fees for the transfers. The bill leaves important details unspecified—such as which campuses are required, the actual eligibility standards, what information counts as “necessary” on the simplified application, and any enforcement or funding mechanisms—so operational costs, privacy safeguards, and exact student outcomes are uncertain.