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Split testimony at committee over limiting Board of Nursing oversight

House Postsecondary Education & Workforce Committee · February 4, 2026
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

House Bill 24‑98, which would let national nursing accreditation substitute for certain state approval requirements and expedite approvals for accredited programs, divided stakeholders: community colleges and some college presidents supported streamlining to expand capacity, while the Washington State Board of Nursing, employers and nursing education organizations warned it would weaken state oversight and risk patient safety.

House Bill 24‑98 prompted extensive, often sharply divided testimony on Feb. 4 over whether Washington should rely primarily on national nursing accreditation for program approval.

Saranda Ross summarized the bill: it would require the Washington State Board of Nursing to provide technical assistance on corrective action plans for programs with NCLEX pass rates below 80%, expedite approval of nationally accredited programs, and prohibit the Board from imposing requirements beyond national accreditation standards in several areas.

Supporters — including community‑college presidents, nursing…

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