HB 2246 · Firearm Violations — School Discipline Policies

Restructures mandatory expulsion for students with firearm violations to allow case-by-case administrative review and strengthens reengagement requirements.

Federal law (the Gun-Free Schools Act) and Washington state law have long required one-year expulsions for firearm possession on school grounds. Mandatory, non-discretionary expulsion has been a significant driver of school pushout, with disproportionate impacts on students of color and students with disabilities. Washington has previously enacted some flexibility provisions, but the existing framework still limits administrator discretion in ways that result in expulsions for students who may not pose an ongoing safety risk.

HB 2246 reorganizes Washington’s firearm expulsion statute to explicitly allow chief administrators to modify expulsions on a case-by-case basis, bringing state law into clearer alignment with federal law’s existing flexibility provision. For students who display an instrument appearing to be a firearm with malicious intent, the bill shifts from mandatory expulsion to a maximum of one year’s suspension or expulsion at administrator discretion. The reengagement process is enhanced: meetings must address whether the student will return full time or receive comparable services elsewhere, with plans reassessed every six months. Schools must provide educational services during suspension or expulsion periods. Following discipline, boards may limit extracurricular participation. The bill is in House Education Committee following a public hearing in January 2026.

• Mandatory expulsion without discretion is a direct pipeline driver — the bill’s move toward case-by-case review is consistent with decades of evidence that flexible, individualized responses produce better safety and reintegration outcomes.
• The reengagement requirement and educational services mandate are critical: students who are expelled without ongoing educational access are significantly more likely to enter the justice system.
• The provision allowing schools to deny readmission warrants careful monitoring — if applied disproportionately to students of color, it could undermine the flexibility gains elsewhere in the bill.
• Coalition members should advocate for robust reengagement protocols in their districts regardless of this bill’s outcome, and push for data collection on who receives educational services during expulsion periods.