Relating to: verification of a pupil’s family income for participation in a parental choice program.
AB 496 changes income requirements for families using state-funded private school choice programs. It raises the income limit from 2.2 times the federal poverty level to 3.0 times for most districts (previously only 2.2x applied to some districts), while maintaining the lower 2.2x limit for specific school districts. The bill also simplifies income verification by removing outdated requirements for checking family income. This affects families applying for private school choice programs, with changes taking effect for the 2026-27 school year.
Bill status
failed
1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Oct 2025
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Oct 9, 2025
Last action Mar 23, 2026
Floor votes
How they voted
No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
4
Key actions
0
Committee
0
Oct 9, 2025
Introduced
Introduced by Representatives Phelps, Sheehan, Hong, Arney, Bare, Clancy, Cruz, Fitzgerald, Joers, Madison, Palmeri, Sinicki, Snodgrass, Spaude, Stroud, Tenorio and Johnson;
cosponsored by Senators Larson, Carpenter, Dassler-Alfheim, Keyeski, Pfaff, Ratcliff, Roys and Spreitzer
lower
17 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Alex Joers
DDemocratic
P
Angela Stroud
DDemocratic
P
Angelina Cruz
DDemocratic
P
Angelito Tenorio
DDemocratic
P
Christian Phelps
DDemocratic
P
Christine Sinicki
DDemocratic
P
Darrin Madison
DDemocratic
P
Francesca Hong
DDemocratic
P
Joan Fitzgerald
DDemocratic
P
Joe Sheehan
DDemocratic
P
Lee Snodgrass
DDemocratic
P
Lori Palmeri
DDemocratic
P
Margaret Arney
DDemocratic
P
Mike Bare
DDemocratic
P
Ryan Clancy
DDemocratic
P
Ryan Spaude
DDemocratic
P
Tara Johnson
DDemocratic
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