Washington lawmakers advance bill regulating campus protest encampments

A Washington lawmaker is moving forward with legislation that would require protest organizers to request permission 21 days in advance before setting up encampments on public university campuses in the state and would make unauthorized groups financially liable for damage and removal costs.

Democratic Rep. Mari Leavitt sponsored House Bill 2589, which seeks to put encampments under a formal, advance approval process. The bill states that “no person or organization may use an institution of higher education’s campus to camp,” while also allowing universities to authorize or deny requests based on time, place, or manner considerations.

The bill would require encampment organizers to file for permission well ahead of time and would allow institutions to set conditions, including where an encampment could be established, to ensure access, safety, and continuity of university operations. The legislation would also hold participants in unauthorized encampments responsible for damage and removal costs.

Leavitt emphasized that the intent is not to ban protest, but to ensure campuses remain functional and safe. Ahead of the Jan. 28 hearing, she said the legislation “doesn’t ban encampments on campus,” instead, it is a way to help institutions manage the impacts of encampments on the campus.

Leavitt, who is not Jewish, told the Jewish News Syndicate that universities have a right to ensure first responders can access areas, to determine where encampments can occur, and to keep students and faculty safe “to go about their business” without being impeded. “I hope the impact for Jewish students will be the same as for all students,” she said, adding, “that students feel safe and welcome to be on campus and navigate around campus in a safe way and not be impeded.” She also argued that codifying statewide rules would help institutions make decisions that are best for their campuses, particularly for students “who may not have felt safe on campus, I think for good reason.”

Leavitt said she worked with the Council of Presidents, representing the state’s six public, four-year institutions, including the University of Washington, while shaping the bill. During a public hearing on the bill, Leavitt said an encampment’s effect depends on how much it disrupts the campus.

Huma Kali, a former student at Evergreen State College, testified for the bill, saying that after viewing the graphic footage from the Oct. 7 massacre, she returned to campus expecting support for victims. “What I came back to was celebration,” describing “an increase in violence, harassment,” and testified that she was prevented from accessing buildings on campus.

Regina Sassoon Friedland, director of the American Jewish Committee in Seattle, told the outlet that under the proposal, only student groups in good standing would be able to apply to establish an encampment and pointed to SUPER UW, the group responsible for over $1 million in damage to buildings on campus, as an example of a group that would not qualify. “They want to make sure that universities are in control of their own campuses,” she said. “They are not trying to shut down free speech.”

The bill comes as two dozen UW students affiliated with Antifa and anti-Israel groups who were arrested last spring for causing over $1 million in damage to the engineering building were allowed back on campus for the new semester. The group marked its return by setting up a booth in the quad to distribute pro-Hamas material, including graphics glorifying Yehya Sinwar, one of the architects of Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre against Israel. The booth was set up on the site of the 2024 violent antisemitic Gaza encampment, not far from the engineering building that was damaged during the occupation. No charges have been filed, despite 34 arrests made during the May takeover.