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Washington Payment Program for Educational Expenses for Non-Public Students Initiative (2026)
| Washington Payment Program for Educational Expenses for Non-Public Students Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 3, 2026 | |
| Topic School choice policy | |
| Status Cleared for signature gathering | |
| Type State statute | Origin Citizens |
The Washington Payment Program for Educational Expenses for Non-Public Students Initiative may be on the ballot in Washington as an indirect initiated state statute on November 3, 2026.
The ballot initiative would establish public payments for students in non-public education, providing for taxpayers to donate $300,000,000 annually towards the program instead of paying taxes.[1]
Text of measure
Full text
The full text of the measure is available here.
Path to the ballot
Process in Washington
An indirect initiated state statute is a citizen-initiated ballot measure that amends state statute. There are nine (9) states that allow citizens to initiate indirect state statutes.
While a direct initiative is placed on the ballot once supporters file the required number of valid signatures, an indirect initiative is first presented to the state legislature. Legislators have a certain number of days, depending on the state, to adopt the initiative into law. Should legislators take no action or reject the initiative, the initiative is put on the ballot for voters to decide.
In Washington, the number of signatures required for an indirect initiated state statute, called an Initiative to the Legislature (ITL), is equal to 8% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election. Signatures for indirect initiatives are due at least 10 days prior to the beginning of the legislative session in the year of the targeted election.
In Washington, the Legislature has three options regarding Initiatives to the Legislature:
- (1) The Legislature can adopt an Initiative to the Legislature, in which case the initiative is enacted into law without a vote of electors;
- (2) The Legislature can reject or not act on the initiative, in which case the initiative is placed on the ballot at the next state general election; or
- (3) The Legislature can approve an alternative to the proposed initiative, in which case both the original proposal and the legislative alternative are placed on the ballot at the next state general election.
If an indirect initiative goes to the ballot, a simple majority vote is required for approval.
The requirements to get an Initiative to the Legislature certified for the 2026 ballot:
- Signatures: 308,911 valid signatures
- Deadline: January 2, 2026
Stages of this ballot initiative
The following is the timeline of the initiative:[2]
- May 23, 2025: Citizen Brian Heywood filed the petition for the initiative with the Washington secretary of state's office.
- June 6, 2025: The initiative was issued a serial number (IL26-650), a ballot title, and a ballot summary. It was cleared to begin gathering signatures.
External links
See also
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Footnotes
