HB 2132 · State Financial Aid Privacy

Shields Washington state financial aid application data from public disclosure and bars agencies — including federal authorities — from accessing it without a court order.

Washington’s College Bound and State Need Grant programs provide financial aid to low-income students, including many who are undocumented or have mixed-status family backgrounds. In the current federal enforcement climate, concerns have grown that data submitted on state aid applications could be accessed by federal immigration authorities, deterring eligible students from applying. Existing public records law does not provide adequate protections for this sensitive data.

HB 2132 exempts personally identifying and financial information on state financial aid applications from public disclosure under Washington’s Public Records Act. Records must be destroyed within one year after the award year ends. State agencies are prohibited from sharing applicant data with any outside entity — including federal agencies — without a court order. Information may only flow between the Higher Education Coordinating Board and colleges for the purpose of facilitating enrollment. These protections apply to alternative state aid applications; federal FAFSA data is excluded. The bill is currently in House Appropriations Committee.

• Fear of immigration enforcement has a documented chilling effect on undocumented students applying for financial aid they are eligible to receive — this bill directly addresses that barrier.
• Access to higher education is a key off-ramp from the school-to-prison pipeline. Bills that remove financial barriers to postsecondary access are directly within the coalition’s scope.
• The federal preemption question is significant — state law cannot override a valid federal subpoena, but creating a strong state-law privacy baseline raises the threshold for any data disclosure.
• The bill stalled in Appropriations; coalition members should contact their representatives on the Appropriations Committee to urge advancement in the next session.