OLYMPIA – This morning, Governor Bob Ferguson signed legislation ensuring online, out-of-state colleges and universities seeking to enroll Washington residents must abide by the same student consumer protections as Washington colleges and universities.
Under current Washington law, students may file complaints with the Washington Student Achievement Council if online colleges misrepresent academic programs, accreditation, job placement statistics, or student debt and earnings measurements. Out-of-state online schools claim this law does not apply to them, leaving thousands of Washington students without protections. Rep. Gerry Pollet, D-Seattle, is correcting this problem with House Bill 1279.
“Online universities, including many for-profits, who advertise and recruit heavily to entice Washington residents to enroll have sought to avoid any accountability to comply with Washington State’s strong student consumer protections,” said Pollet. “Working students using online programs deserve the same protection and transparency that other Washington students enjoy, regardless of where the college is based.”
Now signed into law, House Bill 1279 levels the playing field for interstate cooperation with higher education institutions while providing important protections for Washington students.
“House Bill 1279 sends a strong message that the board that oversees the interstate agreement for online higher education programs (called ‘SARA’) needs to be reformed to protect the students rather than shielding the for-profit and aggressive online education industry,” said Pollet.
US Department of Education findings from January 2024 show that some interstate agreements can disadvantage states with strong student consumer protection laws by preventing them from investigating student complaints against out-of-state online institutions. Having been signed into law, House Bill 1279 addresses these challenges for Washington students.
In his previous role as Attorney General, the Governor joined 24 other attorneys general calling for stronger student consumer protections and the reform of interstate agreements citing “investigations revealed widespread abuses in the for-profit college sector.”
House Bill 1279 will go into effect 90 days after the end of the 2025 legislative session, which is scheduled to end on Sunday.