HB 1257 Washington House · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Extending special education services to students with disabilities until the end of the school year in which the student turns 22.

HB 1257 extends special education services for students with disabilities until the end of the school year in which they turn 22, instead of ending at age 21. This change directly affects students with disabilities aged 16-22 who require transition planning to move from school to postsecondary life. The bill amends state education statutes to align with a federal court ruling finding Washington’s prior policy violated the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. It also requires state agencies to update transition planning by October 2026, ensuring services supplement rather than replace other support programs.

Issues: ✓ Education

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 12, 2026 Last action Jan 12, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Bill → Substitute Bill · 5 edits

MODERATE

This bill amends the original text to reflect its status as a 'Substitute Bill' after committee review, updating the sponsor attribution to include the House Education committee and changing the first reading date to February 20, 2025. The core policy provisions regarding extending special education services through the school year in which a student turns 22 remain substantively unchanged.

Scope change

The bill's scope and applicability remain identical to the original version; only the procedural metadata regarding committee referral and reading dates has been updated.

TECHNICAL

Updated the bill title from 'HOUSE BILL' to 'SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL' to indicate it has been amended by a committee.

Changed the sponsor attribution to include 'By House Education' and listed the original sponsors.

Updated the first reading date from January 13, 2025, to February 20, 2025.

Corrected the court order date in the legislative findings from November 20, 2024, to November 22, 2024.

REQUIREMENT

Added a clarifying sentence stating that the service extension does not reduce or supplant other services an individual with disabilities is eligible for.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Jan 12, 2026

Introduced

By resolution, reintroduced and retained in present status.

lower

Feb 20, 2025

Committee

Referred to Appropriations.

lower

Feb 17, 2025

Lower · Passed

Executive action taken in the House Committee on Education at 1:30 PM.

lower

Feb 3, 2025

Lower · Passed

Public hearing in the House Committee on Education at 1:30 PM.

lower

1 primary · 10 co-sponsors