This bill creates a new section in chapter 28B.77 RCW that requires "the council" to work with public and private not-for-profit four-year institutions of higher education to develop formal data collection protocols for identifying parenting students. It directs the council to convene a work group that will make recommendations for how to identify parenting status and for campus and community partnership practices to support parenting students. The council is authorized to adopt rules to implement the new section, and participating institutions are encouraged (but not mandated in this text) to send their data to the education data center at least annually. The work group must deliver its recommendations to the appropriate legislative committees by December 1, 2026. The bill specifies work group membership to include an organization representing presidents of public four-year institutions, the State Board of Community and Technical Colleges, the Washington Student Association or a comparable student advocacy organization, Communities for Our Colleges, and other entities with relevant experience. The text does not identify which entity is "the council," does not define "education data center" or "parenting students," does not specify which legislative committees are the appropriate recipients, and does not make clear whether data collection or submission is mandatory beyond the encouragement to submit annually.

If enacted, a state council will lead work with public and private nonprofit four-year colleges to create formal ways to identify students who are parents, with colleges allowed to collect that information where it is most feasible (for example at enrollment) and to update it annually. Colleges are encouraged, but not required in the text provided, to send that data to the state education data center at least once a year; the council must also convene a work group (including higher education leaders and student advocates) to recommend identification methods and supportive campus/community practices and report those recommendations to the Legislature by December 1, 2026. The council is given authority to adopt rules to implement these steps. Practically, four-year institutions will likely need to spend staff time and possibly change enrollment processes or forms to collect and maintain parenting-status information, and the council will need resources to run the work group and pursue rulemaking; the education data center may receive more data if institutions comply. Key unknowns that affect costs, risks, and enforcement are not specified here: which specific council is responsible, how “parenting students” is defined, whether data submission will be made mandatory later by rule, and whether any funding or privacy protections are provided.