Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, the community and technical colleges shall design and implement an online curriculum and pathway to earn a licensed practical nursing credential. The college board shall select two colleges, one on either side of the crest of the Cascade mountains, to design and implement the online curriculum. The curriculum may include use of a mobile skills lab or other innovative approaches to ensure access to training opportunities for rural students.

Findings—2023 c 126: "The legislature finds that nurses are essential to the operation of the state's health care system. Further, the legislature finds that the gap between demand for nurses and an available workforce continues to widen. Nursing professions continue to rank among the highest demand occupations in the state with the number of unfilled openings ranking near the top of all professional categories each month. The legislature finds that the need for nurses is particularly acute in rural hospital and clinical settings as well as long-term care facilities. Further, the legislature finds that there is a need to expand nursing credential opportunities through the expansion of existing postsecondary programs, the provision of adequate compensation for nurse educators, the creation of new and innovative approaches to health care credentials, the creation and expansion of proven pathways to health care careers within the K-12 system, and the streamlining of administrative requirements in the approval of new, high quality nursing education opportunities." [ 2023 c 126 § 1.]