Senate committee backs statewide push for digital high‑school transcripts to speed admissions
Summary
Lawmakers and education officials heard that a statewide digital transcript standard (SB 6052) could cut manual processing time and speed admissions; witnesses urged security, alignment with the 'high school and beyond' platform and funding for implementation.
Olympia — The Senate Early Learning and K–12 Education Committee heard broad support for Senate Bill 6052 on Jan. 20, a proposal to create a statewide standardized digital transcript format and secure exchange for K–12 and postsecondary institutions.
Committee staff described the bill as directing the Washington School Information Processing Cooperative (WSIPC) to develop, maintain and govern a platform‑independent digital transcript standard and secure environment for two‑way exchange. The bill would require public K–12 districts and public institutions of higher education to participate and allow private nonprofit 4‑year institutions to join; it would require that disclosure occur only with express, revocable permission from the student, parent or guardian.
Supporters told the committee the change could remove a long‑standing operational bottleneck. “Each year, EWU receives around 11,000 transcripts from Washington high schools alone,” said Bubakar/Boubacar Boire of Eastern Washington University, noting many arrive as images or paper and “must be checked, matched to a student record, and keyed by hand — about 7 minutes per transcript, totaling more than 1,300 staff hours annually.” Proponents said a data file standard would let information flow directly into admissions systems, reducing delays and errors.
Why it matters: College admissions offices and K–12 registrars described repetitive, manual work that can slow enrollment decisions, particularly for first‑generation or multilingual students. Melissa Beard of the Council of Presidents said higher‑education institutions and K–12 partners have spent months defining what data is essential for admissions and urged alignment between the proposed exchange and the existing high school and beyond platform so the initiative does not create a separate silo.
Committee members pressed on interoperability and security. Legislators asked whether blockchain or other encryption approaches would be used. Sponsor remarks and technical witnesses said the bill establishes the standard and exchange; additional security layers, encryption and governance details would be built into implementation. Dr. Dana Anderson of WSIPC said the bill helps overcome a current barrier — the need for hundreds of separate data‑sharing agreements — by creating a statewide permissioning ecosystem.
Opponents did not appear in force for this bill; instead, questions centered on ensuring the standard works with existing platforms and who will fund platform development. Staff and witnesses acknowledged the likely need for implementation funding and for OSPI and WSIPC to coordinate with high‑school platforms. A fiscal note was requested for SB 6052 but had not been returned at the time of the hearing.
What’s next: The committee concluded the hearing on SB 6052 after technical and stakeholder testimony and did not take a vote that day. Sponsors and staff said they will continue stakeholder work to align the standard with existing systems and to flesh out governance and funding plans.
