SB 5666
In CommitteeSenate
Mental health internships
Establishing a public school-based mental health internship grant program.
This status may be delayed. See Action History below for the latest updates.
How does a bill become law?
- Introduced: The bill is filed and assigned a number.
- Committee: A subject-matter committee holds hearings, takes public testimony, and decides whether to advance the bill.
- Floor Vote: The full chamber (House or Senate) debates and votes on the bill.
- Opposite Chamber: The bill repeats the committee and floor vote process in the other chamber.
- Governor: The Governor reviews the bill and decides whether to sign or veto it.
- Signed: The bill has been signed into law.
AI Analysis
This bill creates a grant program to help Washington public schools pay for full-time school psychology interns, aiming to grow the pipeline of credentialed school psychologists and address a critical statewide shortage. It provides funding to schools to support interns while they gain hands-on experience, with the goal of increasing retention and improving student mental health services.
- Establishes a public school-based mental health internship grant program administered by the Washington Student Achievement Council (now part of the Higher Education Coordinating Board).
- Grants are awarded to school districts, educational service districts, charter schools, and state-tribal education compact schools to help pay for full-time school psychology interns.
- Grant amounts equal 75% of the entry-level salary of a school psychologist (or of an educator with a master’s degree and 45 graduate credits), up to one year per intern.
- Eligible interns must be enrolled in an accredited school psychology program and placed at a site with a qualified supervisor.
- Requires annual reporting to the legislature by December 1, starting in 2026, on internship program outcomes, grant data, and workforce statistics for school psychologists.
- Creates an advisory committee to recommend funding strategies and include input from training programs and diverse communities.
Who is affected
- Public K–12 education agencies — School districts, ESDs, charter schools, and state-tribal education compact schools that hire and supervise school psychology interns may receive grant funding to help pay interns’ salaries.
- K–12 students — Students in Washington public schools benefit from increased access to mental health support through more school psychologists and trained interns who may stay in the profession long-term.
- School psychology graduate students — Graduate students enrolled in accredited school psychology programs gain paid internship opportunities, helping them meet licensing requirements and enter the workforce.
- State higher education leadership — The Washington Student Achievement Council (now part of the Higher Education Coordinating Board) will administer the program, coordinate with schools, and report outcomes to the legislature.
Pro/Con Analysis
Stronger case for benefits
Potential Benefits (5)
The program directly expands access to paid, supervised internships for graduate students—many of whom are from underrepresented backgrounds—reducing financial barriers to entering the school psychology profession and increasing the pipeline of credentialed professionals.
EducationPeopleRef: Sec. 2(2)(b)By subsidizing intern salaries, the program enables districts—especially rural and high-need districts—to afford interns they otherwise couldn’t, directly increasing mental health service access for K–12 students who face long waitlists or no access to school-based counseling.
EducationPeopleRef: Sec. 2(2)(b)The advisory committee’s requirement to include representatives from diverse communities and training programs helps ensure culturally responsive program design and may reduce systemic barriers for students of color and English learners.
EducationPeopleRef: Sec. 2(2)(d)(ii)Annual workforce data collection—including remote service usage—will improve the state’s ability to track and address geographic and demographic gaps in mental health staffing, enabling more targeted future interventions.
EducationPeopleRef: Sec. 3(1)(a)-(b)The bill addresses a well-documented, severe shortage (national recommendation: 500:1 ratio; Washington’s ratio is far worse), and research cited in the bill shows that school psychologists who stay beyond three years become deeply embedded in communities—making this a high-leverage investment in long-term student well-being.
EducationPeopleRef: Sec. 1 (Findings)
Potential Concerns (5)
The grant covers only 75% of entry-level salaries, leaving school districts responsible for the remaining 25%—a cost that may strain district budgets, especially in low-wealth districts that already struggle to retain mental health staff.
EducationPeopleRef: Sec. 2(2)(b)The competitive grant process may disproportionately benefit larger or better-resourced districts with stronger grant-writing capacity and existing internship infrastructure, potentially widening equity gaps in mental health staffing across districts.
EducationLean peopleRef: Sec. 2(2)(b)The 75% salary cap is based on *entry-level* pay, but districts may need to offer higher wages to attract and retain interns in competitive labor markets—especially in high-cost urban areas—limiting the program’s real-world purchasing power.
EducationPeopleRef: Sec. 2(2)(b)The advisory committee is optional and lacks statutory requirements for funding commitments or enforcement authority, reducing its potential to drive systemic change or ensure accountability for equitable implementation.
EducationLean peopleRef: Sec. 2(2)(d)Mandated demographic reporting is valuable for transparency but does not itself improve outcomes—its impact depends on how the legislature uses the data, and past reports on similar workforce gaps have not led to sustained funding increases.
EducationRef: Sec. 3(1)(e)
Who Is Most Affected
School districts—especially smaller, rural, and high-poverty ones—will benefit most, as the grant offsets internship costs and helps them build long-term mental health capacity. However, districts without existing internship supervisors or strong grant capacity may struggle to compete.
Graduate students gain paid, supervised experience that meets licensing requirements—reducing student debt and increasing likelihood of entering (and staying in) the profession. This is especially impactful for first-generation and low-income students.
Students in underserved communities (e.g., rural, low-income, communities of color) will see improved access to mental health services as more credentialed psychologists enter the workforce. However, benefits depend on intern retention post-graduation.
The Higher Education Coordinating Board gains administrative responsibility and data authority, strengthening its role in K–12–higher ed alignment. However, the agency has no funding guarantee beyond annual appropriations, limiting long-term influence.
Charter schools and state-tribal education compact schools gain equal access to funding, which supports tribal communities in building culturally grounded mental health services—but only if they have qualified supervisors and administrative capacity to apply.