Student navigational support

AN ACT Relating to student navigational supports to increase 1
postsecondary enrollment; amending RCW 28B.50.940; adding a new 2
section to chapter 28B.77 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 3
28A.415 RCW; and creating a new section. 4
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:5
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature recognizes that Washington 6
is ranked among the top states in the nation for the share of jobs 7
requiring postsecondary education and that large majorities of high 8
school students self-report aspirations to continue their education 9
beyond 12th grade. However, only an estimated 40 percent of 10
Washington's high school class of 2021 is projected to obtain a 11
postsecondary credential. This issue is particularly pressing for 12
students from lower income households. The legislature further 13
recognizes that the real or perceived cost of postsecondary education 14
is a critical systemic barrier that impedes prospective students from 15
applying for and enrolling in postsecondary education. This is 16
despite Washington boasting one of the most expansive and equitable 17
set of state-level postsecondary financial aid programs in the 18
country. 19
The legislature finds that counseling, advising, and coaching 20
that help students with the postsecondary financial aid application 21
H-0346.1
HOUSE BILL 1136
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Representatives Leavitt, Shavers, Callan, Bronoske, Simmons,
Pollet, Nance, and Bernbaum
Prefiled 12/26/24. Read first time 01/13/25. Referred to Committee
on Postsecondary Education & Workforce.
p. 1 HB 1136
and enrollment processes, and that provide hands-on assistance, are 1
evidence-based approaches to increasing rates of postsecondary 2
enrollment. The legislature further recognizes that on-site experts 3
deliver comprehensive school career counseling programs, which 4
provide support for students and their families in securing 5
postsecondary opportunities. 6
The addition of enrollment and outreach specialists can provide a 7
valuable resource for comprehensive school career counseling programs 8
and broaden access to student navigational supports throughout the 9
state. Therefore, Washington state should invest in student 10
navigational support and services to advise students to and through 11
postsecondary education and training. 12
It is the intent of the legislature to establish a postsecondary 13
outreach and enrollment specialist program for the purposes of 14
helping Washington high school students with postsecondary financial 15
aid and educational opportunities as well as encouraging completion 16
of financial aid and postsecondary enrollment. 17
Furthermore, the legislature intends to ensure that every school 18
district has access to at least one qualified financial aid 19
professional to provide support and ensure accurate and timely 20
administration of financial aid forms. To achieve this, the 21
legislature intends to make available, at no cost to participants, 22
comprehensive financial aid training for teachers, school career 23
counselors, and postsecondary staff or community partners.24
Sec. 2. RCW 28B.50.940 and 2022 c 214 s 3 are each amended to 25
read as follows: 26
Subject to availability of amounts appropriated for this specific 27
purpose, the college board shall administer a ((free application for 28
federal student aid and Washington application for state financial 29
aid outreach and completion initiative pilot program.30
(1) The college board shall select community or technical 31
colleges to participate in the pilot program. The colleges selected 32
to participate must each be located within educational service 33
districts that are in the bottom two for free application for federal 34
student aid completion rates when combining their respective school 35
districts' free application for federal student aid completion rates 36
over the past three completed academic years prior to June 9, 2022. 37
Colleges selected to participate shall employ outreach specialists to 38
work directly with the high schools located in the corresponding 39
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educational service district. It is the legislature's intent that the 1
outreach specialists be employed at a ratio of one to 600 high school 2
seniors within the corresponding educational service district. The 3
outreach specialists shall make significant contact with high school 4
students and their families for the purpose of increasing free 5
application for federal student aid and Washington application for 6
state financial aid completion rates. The outreach specialists shall 7
use the free application for federal student aid and Washington 8
application for state financial aid data maintained by the student 9
achievement council to conduct targeted outreach and free application 10
for federal student aid and Washington application for state 11
financial aid completion assistance to high school seniors. The 12
outreach specialists shall also provide information on how to access 13
private scholarships. The outreach specialists shall conduct other 14
outreach as appropriate, including virtual or in-person presentations 15
with students and families, announcements on school intercoms and 16
social media channels, outreach to recent high school graduates as 17
peer messengers, and events at school college or career fairs.18
(2) The college board shall report annually to the appropriate 19
committees of the legislature in accordance with RCW 43.01.036 20
beginning December 1, 2023, on the free application for federal 21
student aid and Washington application for state financial aid 22
outreach and completion initiative pilot program. The report must 23
include details on how the colleges selected used the funding and how 24
the initiatives worked to increase free application for federal 25
student aid and Washington application for state financial aid 26
completion rates. The report must also include before and after free 27
application for federal student aid and Washington application for 28
state financial aid completion data and specific details about the 29
number of high school students assisted in completing the free 30
application for federal student aid and Washington application for 31
state financial aid )) financial aid completion and postsecondary 32
enrollment program for every educational service district.33
(1)(a) Depending on the needs of the educational service 34
district, the college board shall select at least one of the 35
following entities in each educational service district to 36
participate in the program:37
(i) Community or technical colleges;38
(ii) Public four-year institutions of higher education;39
(iii) Tribal organizations; or40
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(iv) Community-based organizations.1
(b) The college board shall establish a selection committee for 2
selecting the entities to participate in the program.3
(i) The selection committee must include at least two community 4
or technical college representatives as designated by the college 5
board and at least two public four-year representatives as designated 6
by an organization representing the public four-year institutions of 7
higher education.8
(ii) The selection committee may consult with colleges, 9
institutions of higher education, and the student achievement council 10
in developing selection criteria.11
(2) Entities selected to participate shall employ outreach and 12
enrollment specialists to work directly with the high schools located 13
in the corresponding educational service district.14
(3) The outreach and enrollment specialists shall coordinate with 15
the secondary school counseling program and any other school district 16
staff as appropriate to make significant contact with high school 17
students and their families, with a focus on secondary schools that 18
have a higher percentage of students who are eligible for free or 19
reduced-price lunch compared to other schools in the same educational 20
service district, for the purpose of increasing free application for 21
federal student aid and Washington application for state financial 22
aid completion rates. The outreach and enrollment specialists must 23
use the free application for federal student aid, Washington 24
application for state financial aid, and college bound scholarship 25
eligibility data maintained by the student achievement council to 26
conduct targeted outreach and free application for federal student 27
aid and Washington application for state financial aid completion 28
assistance to high school seniors. The outreach and enrollment 29
specialists must also provide information on how to access private 30
scholarships. The outreach and enrollment specialists shall conduct 31
other outreach as appropriate, including virtual or in-person 32
presentations with students and families, announcements on school 33
intercoms and social media channels, outreach to recent high school 34
graduates as peer messengers, and events at school college or career 35
fairs.36
(4) The outreach and enrollment specialists shall assist:37
(a) High school students in navigating the application and 38
enrollment process for institutions of higher education and 39
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coordinate with school district staff and other college access 1
partners as appropriate and as needed; and2
(b) Students in connecting with appropriate staff at institutions 3
of higher education who can help students in exploring campus 4
services and programs to improve their skills, increase academic 5
achievement, and help students reach their education and career 6
goals.7
(5) The tasks performed by outreach and enrollment specialists 8
must complement and support the work of secondary school staff and 9
administration in providing comprehensive postsecondary navigation 10
support.11
(6) The college board, in collaboration with the office of the 12
superintendent of public instruction, an organization representing 13
the public four-year institutions of higher education, and college 14
access staff from the student achievement council, shall outline the 15
roles and responsibilities of colleges, institutions of higher 16
education, tribal organizations, and community-based organizations to 17
ensure outreach and enrollment specialists have the necessary 18
resources and support to effectively engage with students to promote 19
financial aid attainment and postsecondary enrollment. Resources and 20
support may include, but are not limited to: Access to buildings, 21
adequate meeting spaces, certain technology, school supplies, and 22
safe and secure access to individual student's high school and beyond 23
plans.24
(7) The college board must develop a communication plan for 25
students and families about the presence and role of outreach and 26
enrollment specialists.27
(8) The college board, the student achievement council, an 28
organization representing the public four-year institutions of higher 29
education, an organization representing the private four-year 30
institutions of higher education, and those organizations 31
representing teachers, counselors, and principals shall collaborate 32
in preparing a training program for outreach and enrollment 33
specialists.34
(9) The college board shall report annually to the appropriate 35
committees of the legislature in accordance with RCW 43.01.036 36
beginning January 15, 2026, on the outreach and enrollment specialist 37
program. The report must include details on how:38
p. 5 HB 1136
(a) The colleges, institutions of higher education, tribal 1
organizations, or community-based organizations selected used the 2
funding; and3
(b) The initiatives worked to increase free application for 4
federal student aid and Washington application for state financial 5
aid completion rates.6
(10) The education data center established in RCW 43.41.400, in 7
collaboration with the college board, the public four-year 8
institutions of higher education, the office of the superintendent of 9
public instruction, and the student achievement council shall create 10
a report on the completion rates of the free application for federal 11
student aid and Washington application for state financial aid by 12
Washington high school seniors. The report must include data, 13
disaggregated by demographic data, on: The completion rates prior to 14
implementation of the program created in this section, the 15
postimplementation completion rates, and the rates of first-time 16
postsecondary enrollment of students within one year of high school 17
graduation. The report required by this subsection must be submitted 18
to the appropriate committees of the legislature by December 1, 2027.19
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 28B.77 20
RCW to read as follows: 21
(1) The council shall administer a financial aid training program 22
that is available to secondary school teachers and counselors, staff 23
at the institutions of higher education, and community partners in 24
order to have at least one qualified financial aid professional at 25
each school to provide support and ensure accurate and timely 26
administration of financial aid forms. The council must coordinate 27
with the office of the superintendent of public instruction to 28
develop the topics that the training program will cover. The council 29
may contract with a third-party entity to provide the training 30
program. The training program must be offered at no cost to program 31
participants. 32
(2) The council shall provide a report by December 1, 2027, to 33
the governor and the education and higher education committees of the 34
legislature in accordance with RCW 43.01.036. The report must:35
(a) Describe the development and content of the training program; 36
and 37
(b) Report on the number of trainings provided, the number of 38
unique adults who participated in the program, a summary of the 39
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geographic location of training program participants, the 1
professional roles of training program participants, and a 2
description of how skills gained through the program have been used 3
by training program participants. 4
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 28A.415 5
RCW to read as follows: 6
(1) By September 1, 2027, the office of the superintendent of 7
public instruction, in collaboration with the student achievement 8
council and the Washington professional educator standards board, 9
shall offer continuing education credits to in-service educators on 10
the topic of financial aid, in accordance with section 3 of this act.11
(2) By October 1, 2028, the office of the superintendent of 12
public instruction, in collaboration with the student achievement 13
council and the Washington professional educator standards board, 14
shall make recommendations to the legislature regarding additional 15
incentives that should be available to encourage participation in the 16
training program described in section 3 of this act.17
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