PolicyCore

The SMART Center’s effort to use policy and financing strategies to take effective School Mental Health to scale in Washington State

Our 2026 Policy & Funding Recommendation is for the Washington State Legislature to adopt and fully fund the Washington Thriving plan.

Within the Washington Thriving plan, several action steps are referenced that align with the as-yet-unrealized UW SMART Center priorities from previous years:

  1. Invest in a centralized resource for training and technical assistance (TTA) support for Washington’s schools and districts (page 68)
  2. Expand Behavioral Health Student Assistance Programs (BHSAP) to all Washington schools and districts (page 68)
  3. Utilize workforce development strategies to increase the number, diversity and skills of Educational Staff Associates (ESAs) in partnership with the Washington Student Achievement Council (page 28)
  4. Provide support to districts and schools to achieve the goal of research-based, consistent universal social, emotional and behavioral mental health screening (page 89)

Download our Case for School Mental Health brief

The SMART Center is a member of the School-Based Behavioral Health and Suicide Prevention Subcommittee of the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Work Group (CYBHWG).

2026 Legislative Session Bill Tracking

To stay up to date on Washington legislation impacting K-12 education, you can reference the League of Education Voters bill tracker.

You can also visit Children’s Funding Project to track federal, state, and local public investments in youth programs.

Interested in school mental health and youth suicide prevention legislation from previous legislative sessions? See our bill trackers for prior years below:

Interested in participating or have questions?

Click here to join our mailing list! You can also email us at uwsmart@uw.edu or contact Dr. Eric J. Bruns, UW SMART PolicyCore Lead, at ebruns@uw.edu.