HB 2262 Washington House · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Concerning civics education for public school students through instruction and information about the production and use of official signatures.

Washington's HB 2262 requires public high schools to include signature instruction in civics education starting in the 2027-28 school year. The bill mandates that civics courses teach students to produce a legible, repeatable handwritten signature - covering historical context including how signature practices have historically limited participation by marginalized groups - without requiring students to actually sign documents for course credit. It also directs the state to collect and publish annual data on ballot rejections due to signature mismatches, broken down by voter age, to improve election processes. The law directly affects all Washington public high school students and aims to address barriers in voting and civic participation.

Issues: ✓ Education

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 6, 2026 Last action Feb 19, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Bill → Substitute Bill · 6 edits

MODERATE

The bill was renumbered and its sponsors were updated to reflect its status as a substitute bill. The core requirement for teaching cursive signatures was expanded to include cultural inclusivity and historical context, while explicitly exempting students from needing to produce a cursive signature to earn course credit. The bill also removed a separate monitoring section and consolidated related reporting requirements into the existing election report mandates.

Scope change

The bill's scope was broadened to ensure civics instruction on signatures is culturally inclusive and does not mandate cursive handwriting for credit eligibility.

TECHNICAL

Bill number changed from H-2684.3 to H-3427.1 and title updated to 'Substitute House Bill 2262'.

ELIGIBILITY

Added a clause stating that students are not required to produce a legible cursive signature to earn credit for the civics course.

REQUIREMENT

Added requirements for the cursive signature instruction to include a historical overview of signatures and how past exclusions limited civic participation for marginalized communities.

Added flexibility allowing a student's signature to be a personalized handwritten mark that aligns with their primary language or culture.

Consolidated election report requirements by removing a standalone monitoring section and integrating the data collection mandates into the existing annual statewide survey of ballot rejection rates.

ENFORCEMENT

Removed a separate section requiring the state board of education to monitor and report on cursive signature instruction compliance.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 4, 2026

Committee

Referred to Rules 2 Review.

lower

Feb 3, 2026

Lower · Passed

Executive action taken in the House Committee on Education at 4:00 PM.

lower

Jan 29, 2026

Lower · Passed

Public hearing in the House Committee on Education at 8:00 AM.

lower

1 primary · 6 co-sponsors