In the 2026 legislative session, Washington legislators passed more than 260 bills spanning tens of topic areas, including education, taxation, housing and long-term care. The 60-day session passed several reforms targeted towards education, all of which are intended to improve student life and support Washington’s youth. From support personnel to appropriate use of technology in public schools, the state’s policy changes could impact students for many years.
#1: HB 1634: School-based Mental Health Support
Initially introduced in 2025, this bill was officially passed and signed into law on March 23. It creates a technical assistance and training network to help public schools increase resources and training around students’ mental health, crisis intervention and suicide prevention. The network is assisted by community organization, helping school districts perform a large array of services and evaluations such as need-based assessments for student behavioral health. Evidence-based health programs then address the areas that those assessments deem necessary. It also utilizes connections with community partners to enhance this support, including for families and communities. It is coordinated and maintained through the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), which is the body responsible for public education throughout Washington.
#2: SB 5346: Regulating Cell Phones
This bill, signed into law on March 25, is another step in the OSPI’s efforts to manage personal and mobile device usage in Washington schools. It requires the office to submit a report documenting the different solutions that Washington school districts have implemented to control students’ use of cell phones, tablets and other electronic devices like game consoles. Part of the report must also detail the specific shortcomings of different approaches to device usage, enabling OSPI create a statewide solution in the coming years.
This comes after 2024 guidance from the Superintendent of Public Instruction, Chris Reykdal, instructed school districts to implement policies that restricted mobile device use during instructional time. NSD’s phone policies have evolved to fit that guidance, beginning with phone envelopes in the 2024-25 school year and continuing with mandatory phone caddies in the 2025-26 school year.
#3: SB 6346: The Millionaires’ Tax
With the longest debate time in Olympia’s recent history, the Washington millionaires’ tax (signed on March 30, 2026) was one of the most controversial and impactful bills of the past legislative session. Though it is not directly an education bill, a significant portion of the funding it generates will go to support K-12 education. It is expected to bring in $3 billion in revenue annually, split among healthcare, childcare, public schools and the Working Families Tax Credit, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. This funding will mainly be allocated towards funding for school meals, as well as on early learning and kindergarten support programs. 5% of its revenue is directly portioned to the Fair Start for Kids Account, a state-level fund for preschool programs, and it is directed to help relieve school districts of funding they would otherwise rely on local bonds and levies to receive.
