HB 1289 Washington House · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Gathering survey information to improve the public school system.

HB 1289 requires educational service districts to create a voluntary online survey for parents and guardians to share feedback about their public school experience, including satisfaction, suggestions, and reasons for enrollment or disenrollment. The survey must collect anonymized data linked to statewide student identifiers, then disaggregate responses by student categories (like race or disability), enrollment reasons, and transfer types (e.g., to private schools or home instruction). School districts and the state superintendent must publish annual, public summaries of this data, organized by school and student group, while complying with privacy laws like FERPA. This applies directly to all public school families in Washington, school districts, and educational service districts starting September 2025.

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 Feb 19, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Bill → Substitute Bill · 6 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to shift responsibility for creating and managing a voluntary parent survey from the state-level 'Washington school information processing cooperative' to local 'educational service districts.' The scope of the survey was expanded to gather broader feedback on family satisfaction and suggestions for improvement, not just reasons for transferring or withdrawing. Additionally, the bill now requires the survey to be distributed to families of currently enrolled students, not just those leaving the system, and mandates that data be disaggregated by specific student categories and reasons for disenrollment.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded from a survey focused solely on students transferring or withdrawing to a broader assessment of family satisfaction with the entire public education system, including currently enrolled students.

REQUIREMENT

Responsibility for the survey shifted from the state 'Washington school information processing cooperative' to 'educational service districts' acting jointly.

The survey's purpose was expanded to include gathering feedback on overall family satisfaction and suggestions for improvement, rather than just reasons for transfer or withdrawal.

Survey distribution requirements were broadened to include parents of currently enrolled students, not just those transferring or withdrawing.

Data reporting requirements were strengthened to require disaggregation by student categories and specific reasons for disenrollment.

Privacy compliance requirements were updated to explicitly cite the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) alongside state laws.

DEFINITION

The definition of 'Statewide student identifier' was updated to reference RCW 28A.320.175 instead of RCW 28B.10.041.

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 Rules 2 Review.

lower

Feb 17, 2025

Lower · Passed

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

lower

Feb 6, 2025

Lower · Passed

Executive session scheduled, but no action was taken in the House Committee on Education at 8:00 AM.

lower

Jan 30, 2025

Lower · Passed

Executive session scheduled, but no action was taken in the House Committee on Education at 8:00 AM.

lower

Jan 23, 2025

Lower · Passed

Public hearing in the House Committee on Education at 8:00 AM.

lower

1 primary · 3 co-sponsors