A decade after the Senate Majority Coalition Caucus led a historic effort to cut tuition and restore affordability in higher education, Washington Democrats are now pushing legislation to undo that important progress, and increase costs for working and middle-class families. Senate Republican leaders are calling out the financial harm Senate Bill 5785 would cause to students and families across the state.
“This is an outright assault on college affordability,” said Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, who sponsored the 2015 College Affordability Program. “Ten years ago, we passed a historic tuition cut—the first ever in state history—ensuring Washington’s students could afford a high-quality education. Now, Democrats would roll back that progress by hiking tuition beyond the current statutory cap and slashing financial aid.”
Background: A Decade of Progress Threatened
In 2015, the Legislature passed Senate Bill 5954, sponsored by Braun and Sens. Judy Warnick and Mark Schoesler, and championed by the Senate Majority Coalition Caucus. That landmark legislation reduced tuition for the first time in state history—5% at community colleges, 20% at regional universities, and 15% at the University of Washington and Washington State University. It also implemented a cap on annual tuition increases, tying them to the growth in the state median wage.
“The 2015 tuition cuts were arguably the largest tax relief measure for working and middle-class families in the last 30 years. Our work also saved the Guaranteed Education Tuition program that was facing insolvency – an unfunded liability in the hundreds of millions of dollars for taxpayers,” said Sen. Schoesler, R-Ritzville. “This policy was designed to ensure tuition remained affordable but the new bill from the Democrats would break that promise.”
SB 5785: Higher Tuition, Less Financial Aid
SB 5785 proposes to raise tuition by 5% above the statutory cap beginning in the 2026-27 school year. This means every student entering college that year would pay more than $700 extra in their first year at UW, with cumulative increased costs exceeding $3,200 over four years. The impacts of this hike will be felt across the board, with rising costs year after year for families.
Projected Tuition Increases at the University of Washington Under SB 5785:
Adding insult to injury, SB 5785 would also reduce state financial aid by nearly $200 million over the next four years through a complex formula change that will make it harder for families to afford college.
“This bill is a double hit to students—it raises tuition while cutting financial aid,” said Sen. Warnick, R-Moses Lake. “It’s a reckless move that undermines our commitment to making college affordable and accessible.”
Ignoring the Lessons of the Great Recession
Senate Republicans argue that Democrats are repeating past mistakes by proposing to increase the financial burden on students and families. The 2015 tuition cuts were a direct response to skyrocketing tuition in the wake of the Great Recession, when the state slashed higher education funding and forced students to shoulder the difference.
“The Democrats claim they’ve learned from past mistakes, but this bill proves otherwise,” said Braun. “We saw what happened last time tuition spiked—families struggled, students took on more debt, and college became less accessible. We cannot let history repeat itself.”
Senate Republicans are urging the Legislature to reject SB 5785 and stand by the College Affordability Program that has benefited students and families for the past decade.