2025 Regular Session

BySenators Torres, Dozier, Warnick, and Wellman

Prefiled 12/19/24.Read first time 01/13/25.Referred to Committee on Higher Education & Workforce Development.

AN ACT Relating to the establishment of legal education programs at community and technical colleges; and adding new sections to chapter 28B.50 RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 28B.50 RCW to read as follows:

Subject to appropriations, Columbia Basin College, Yakima Valley College, and Walla Walla College must each offer a prelaw associate's degree program.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 28B.50 RCW to read as follows:

Subject to the amount appropriated for this specific purpose, the college board shall develop a program to incentivize, encourage, and financially support any board of trustees within the system of community and technical colleges to initially establish and offer paralegal education programs approved by the American bar association, to be located in regional areas of the state east of the crest of the Cascade mountains where they are not currently offered, with the goal of establishing one new paralegal education program in central Washington and one new paralegal education program in eastern Washington. The program must give financial support to the development of these programs.