Frequently Asked Questions for House Bill 1660

Under House Bill (HB) 1660, school districts that charge fees for extracurricular activities must have a plan to waive those fees for students from low-income families. Districts must explain how they will lower or remove fees for people who cannot afford them. This includes low-income students, their family members, and community members aged 65 or older who attend ASB events.

The process for charging and collecting fees from high school students in grades 9-12 must be the same for all students, regardless of their free or reduced-price lunch (FRPL) eligibility. This includes fees for:

• Associated Student Body (ASB) card
• School-based athletic programs
• Optional, noncredit school clubs
• Other fees related to attending or taking part in any optional, noncredit district or school event of a cultural, social, recreational, or athletic nature.

Fee waivers must be automatically applied when applicable.

Annual ASB & Athletic Data Collection Reporting

If a high school offers clubs or extracurricular activities during the school year, it must collect participation information every year. The school must share this information with the district’s ASB executive board, and the district must post it on its website for at least five years. 

The participation information must include: 

• How many students from low-income families have ASB cards? 
• How many students from low-income families take part in school sports? 
• The opportunity gap between students from low-income families and students from non-low-income families for ASB activities 
• The opportunity gap between students from low-income families and students from non-low-income families for athletic activities 

If the opportunity gap for ASB activities or sports is more than 5%, the high school must create a plan to reduce the gap. The school must post this plan on both the school and district websites.

Reporting Dates

The following reporting dates must be recognized each year:

Date	Required Action
April 1	High schools must collect and report data to their district’s ASB executive board
April 15	High schools must publish the same data on their school website
June 1	If applicable, high schools must publish their Opportunity Gap Reduction Plan to their website

Changes for School Year 2025-26 

Starting in the 2025–26 school year, OSPI will no longer collect participation data. However, school districts and schools must still share this information publicly. 

Grant funding to help cover lost fees is no longer available, and OSPI will not provide form templates as it has in the past. While House Bill (HB) 1660 does not explain how districts should pay for waived fees, each district must have a policy that explains how fees will be waived.

Data Collection Guidance Materials

OSPI has created a series of collection and reporting tools for district or school business managers to easily calculate and publish their data.

Tool	Description
ASB/Athletic Participation Data Worksheet	A calculation tool that finds ASB and athletic participation opportunity gap percentages
ASB/Athletic Data Report Template	Fillable report template for publishing participation data that is calculated by the worksheet
Opportunity Gap Reduction Plan Template	This fillable plan template allows schools to easily create and publish their Opportunity Gap Reduction Plan.
ASB/Athletic Participation Reference Sheet	Step-by-step guide on calculating, analyzing, and publishing participation data

Tutorial Videos

For additional guidance, a series of tutorials are available to guide you on using these tools.

Video	Description
ASB & Athletic Participation Data Overview	Brief overview of data collection policies, requirements, and process
ASB & Athletic Participation Data Collection Tutorial	How to collect participation data, use the resources, and publish data
Opportunity Gap Reduction Plan Tutorial	How to use collected data to complete gap plan and publish

HB 1660 Foundations 

How is the Opportunity Gap calculated? 

NOTE: if the opportunity gap for either ASB or athletic participation is over 5%, then the high school is required to develop an Opportunity Gap Reduction Plan. 

Opportunity Gap for ASB 

Number of total number of students (from non-low-income families) with ASB cards /number of students (from non-low-income families) minus number of students from low-income families with ASB cards /number of students from low-income families 

Opportunity Gap for Athletics (extracurricular) 

Number of total number of students (from non-low-income families) in athletics/number of total students (from non-low-income families) minus number of students from low-income families in athletics /number of students from low-income families 

NOTE: students (from non-low-income families) = total students minus students from low-income families 

What can high schools count as “athletics”? 

High schools should count students once if they participated in one or more sports. Athletics can include all WIAA sports, Unified sports, and any club sports sponsored by the school. Schools (districts) have the discretion to decide what activities constitute as athletics. A student ‘trying out for a sport’, but then not participating, would not be counted for that specific sport. 

Does HB 1660 apply only to middle and high schools? 

No. The requirement to adopt a policy for waiving fees applies to any fees established and collected by a district for their attendance at or participation in noncredit extracurricular events, and is not grade-specific, thus applies to any students who are charged fees. The data collection, publishing, and reporting requirements around data related to students in possession of ASB cards and participation in school-based athletic programs are for grades 9–12 only. 

What is the “ASB Executive Board”? 

"Associated student body executive board" means the student leadership group responsible for decision-making related to the associated student body at a public school. 

Is there funding to offset the loss of these possible funds? 

No. Funding will no longer be available for possible losses. 

How does this impact family members? 

Districts’ policies must include how they will reduce fees for family members of a student who is low income who are wishing to attend an extracurricular event of the district.

School Policy Impact

What is affected by HB 1660? 

Policies and procedures for waiving fees for optional noncredit extracurricular activities are to be determined by the school district board of directors, including which activities are considered optional, noncredit, and extracurricular. WAC 392-138-013 gives responsibility to school boards to determine how to operate their ASB programs. 

Affected Student Fees	Unaffected Student Fees
ASB card fees  Participation fees for WIAA and Unified sports  School-sponsored club sports  Extracurricular field trips  Admission tickets for games, performances, and dances  Club dues  ASB-hosted events	Student fines  Uniform fees  Curricular programs like band or drama  Parking fees  Testing fees (SAT/ACT, Advanced Placement)  Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) or booster club events  ASB sales (yearbook, spirit wear, prom photos, etc.)

When developing policies, districts should consider how costs and fees can present barriers to student participation and consider policies that further reduce obstacles to participation. 

How are virtual events impacted? 

A district must have a policy and regulations in place for fees charged whether the activities take place in person or virtually. 

Can InvestED funding be used to cover the costs of waived fees? 

HB 1660 does not specify how fees are covered. Districts must develop policies for waiving fees for students from low-income households. Refer to your district’s InvestED rules on allowable uses of InvestED funds. 

Student Eligibility

How is low-income status determined? 
 

There are multiple ways for students to be identified as low-income: 

• Students who are eligible for the College Bound Scholarship 
• Students who are eligible for free or reduced-priced meals through the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Program (via Direct Certification or through a FRPL Application 
• Family income survey 

Can a school/district share FRPL or Direct Certification eligibility status for purposes other than free or reduced-priced meals without parent consent? 

No, the school cannot share a student’s eligibility with other programs unless parent consent is provided. FRPL and Direct Certification data is governed by the federal child nutrition program guidelines, which include the need to obtain parent consent for data-sharing for programs other than designated federal programs or state education programs.  

For more information, please see Disclosure of Free and Reduced Price Information and Eligibility Status on the OSPI Child Nutrition webpage. 

Can districts use multiple ways to gather parent consent? 

Yes. Schools/districts can use other forms to gain consent besides the National School lunch form. For example, schools can ask for parent consent on applications for sports and clubs by including language such as: 

“Students who qualify for free or reduced-price school meals are eligible to have athletic fees waived. Do you consent to share your child’s free or reduced-price eligibility information with this program?” 

The school or district would then have to verify that the student is eligible for free or reduced-priced meals and eligible for the fee waiver, consistent with district policy. 

How do Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) schools determine eligibility? 

To determine eligibility for other programs outside of school meals, families can complete the Family Income Survey which would determine students who are low-income, for the purposes of other programs including fee waivers for extracurricular events. 

How does a school/district determine if an opportunity gap plan is required? 

An Opportunity Gap Reduction Plan is required if the opportunity gap in student possession of an associated student body card OR the opportunity gap in extracurricular activity participation for any high school is over 5%.