As you know, bipartisan bills to exempt yoga teacher training programs (YTTs) from expensive and burdensome regulation by the state’s Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board are working their way through the Washington Senate and House.
This important legislation is gaining support, but we need your help to keep the momentum going!
Last week, the Senate Higher Education Committee unanimously passed the Senate version of the bill (SB 5141)! Now we need the House version (HB 1385) to move, too.
The first step for the House bill is to have it heard by the House Higher Education Committee. This is where you come in. That’s right, Washington. It’s time to make your voices heard!
If you support the ability of YTTs to operate without unnecessary government intrusion:
- Send a friendly email to Rep. Drew Hansen, the Chairman of the House Higher Education Committee (drew.hansen@leg.wa.gov) to respectfully request that he schedule a hearing on this bill soon!
- Tell Rep. Hansen that HB 1385 is important to the yoga community and deserves to be heard.
- Share this alert with friends, family, and fellow yogis. The more attention, the better.
- Stay tuned for more updates from Yoga Alliance on major developments. Have questions or want to volunteer to assist in our advocacy efforts? Contact us at yaadvocacy@yogaalliance.org.
The purpose of SB 5141 and HB 1385 is to clarify that YTTs are not like the private career schools that the state is supposed to regulate, and that yoga programs and yoga participants have different needs than those addressed by the Workforce Board. The bills – if enacted – would give freedom and choice back to Washington YTTs by exempting YTTs from mandatory licensure requirements without taking away the ability of YTTs to voluntarily seek licensure.
Importantly, the bills do not affect other consumer protection, business, and premises safety regulations that apply to all other Washington businesses.
See our answers to Frequently Asked Questions for more information about these bills.