OLYMPIA—Rep. Joe Timmons (D-Bellingham) says that education has always played a special role in his life. As a legislator who attended Washington state public schools throughout his life and having previously worked as a preschool teacher and an administrative staff member at Western Washington University (WWU), he understands firsthand the challenges Washington students face from a variety of perspectives.

Timmons introduced HB 1823 on Monday, with a public hearing already taking place on Tuesday, and passing out of committee today. It now heads to the House Rules Committee.

“I introduced this bill to alleviate critical workforce shortages and because when I worked at WWU, I heard countless stories from students about the challenges they faced in financing their postsecondary education,” said Timmons. “The ones that stuck with me the most are those that expressed a feeling that higher education was not for them—not because they didn’t want to engage in learning or that they couldn’t excel in the classroom, but because they didn’t think they could afford it.

“I’d like to commend the Legislature on making strides in creating access to higher education in recent years, including through tools like the Washington College Grant (for undergraduates) and establishing the Washington student loan last session. Washington is a leader in postsecondary financial aid—creating access to thousands of students, improving the quality of life in our state, and strengthening our workforce,” added Timmons.

HB 1823 builds off the work the Legislature did last year to create this program. This bill modifies the program by targeting fields of study that address Washington’s workforce shortage or are in high-demand areas, such as healthcare, behavioral and mental health, educators, law enforcement, and public safety professionals. By specifically targeting graduate school study, this bill also helps fill a gap in the state’s financial aid landscape and build upon the work the state does to improve access all levels of postsecondary education.

If signed into law, HB 1823 will become effective with the 2025-2026 academic year and will have a minimum life cycle of seven years, with an annual report due to the Legislature to review next steps moving forward.

“This bill is personal to me. My wife and I both earned master’s degrees from the University of Washington. I stayed in Washington for graduate school in part because of the lower costs as an in-state student. But this still meant that I took out tens of thousands of dollars in loans to pay for tuition and living expenses during those two years,” said Timmons.

“This was in addition to qualifying for work study and reducing my educational costs that way. I don’t regret my decision to go to graduate school for one minute but taking on that level of debt pushed back my family’s ability to start a family and purchase a home. This program will help prevent other Washingtonians from facing similar challenges,” added Timmons.