Dear friends and neighbors,  

A lot of my time this session has been focused on how we can better fund our schools from preschool to college.  

My bills to improve access to higher education 

I’m so grateful to the University of Washington students who made it down to Olympia this week to meet with legislators. Their continued advocacy to make college more affordable is incredibly inspiring. 

In this country, people used to be able to work their way through the UW or Washington State University on a minimum-wage job — paying for tuition and room and board while graduating debt-free. I’ve dedicated a lot of my legislative career to ensuring public education is strongly supported and I am continuing to build on that work. 

We’ve made a lot of progress here. In 2019, we passed my landmark free college tuition bill. Since then, tens of thousands of students have been able to go to college for free or at a reduced cost with help from the Washington College Grant. However, paying for college is still one of the greatest barriers for people who want to pursue higher education. Last week, we heard public testimony on SB 5402, which would allow more students from working families to qualify for state financial aid. I’m grateful for all of the students who shared their personal stories about what this bill means to them. 

Tens of thousands of high school students already qualify for admission to our state’s incredible colleges and universities — WSU, Western, UW-Tacoma, and more — but they may not even know it. That’s why I’m proud to support Rep. Julia Reed’s work on HB 1557. The bill would guarantee admission into several of our public colleges and universities to every Washington student with a 3.0 GPA who has completed their high school distribution requirements. I sponsored the Senate version of the bill, which has been heard in the Senate Higher Education & Workforce Development Committee. I look forward to seeing Rep. Reed’s bill coming over to the Senate so I can continue to help advance it through the legislative process. 

How to get involved   

Everything we do in Olympia benefits from your input. So please, reach out anytime with questions or concerns about the bills we’re considering.  

  • Learn how a bill becomes a law.   
  • Find legislation on the issues important to you.   
  • Watch live committee hearings, floor debates and archived videos of your democracy in action.   
  • Testify before legislative committees remotely or in person.   
  • Reach out to my office anytime with any questions or concerns at 360-786-7644 or Drew.Hansen@leg.wa.gov. The more I hear from you, the better I can serve you. You can also follow along for more legislative updates on my official Facebook and Instagram pages.  

Sincerely,  

Drew Hansen