Washington 13 free guarantee

AN ACT Relating to establishing the Washington 13 free guarantee 1
to provide free access to technical college; amending RCW 2
28A.230.310, 28B.50.940, and 28A.230.212; adding a new section to 3
chapter 28A.230 RCW; adding a new chapter to Title 28B RCW; and 4
creating a new section. 5
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:6
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The definitions in this section apply 7
throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires 8
otherwise.9
(1) "Board" means the state board for community and technical 10
colleges. 11
(2) "Eligible degree or certificate program" means:12
(a) Professional and technical programs that lead to a recognized 13
postsecondary credential; or 14
(b) Apprenticeship programs established pursuant to chapter 49.04 15
RCW and conducted in association with any community or technical 16
college. 17
(3) "Gift aid" means financial aid received from the federal Pell 18
grant, the state need grant program under chapter 28B.92 RCW, the 19
college bound scholarship program under chapter 28B.118 RCW, the 20
opportunity grant program under chapter 28B.50 RCW, the opportunity 21
H-0732.1
HOUSE BILL 1657
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Representatives Bergquist, Barkis, Reed, Pollet, Doglio, and
Simmons
Read first time 01/28/25. Referred to Committee on Postsecondary
Education & Workforce.
p. 1 HB 1657
scholarship program under chapter 28B.145 RCW, or any other state 1
grant or scholarship program that provides funds for educational 2
purposes with no obligation of repayment. "Gift aid" does not include 3
student loans and work-study programs. 4
(4) "Guarantee" means the Washington 13 free guarantee.5
(5) "Office" means the office of student financial assistance.6
(6) "Recipient" means an eligible student who has been awarded 7
the guarantee. 8
(7) "Resident student" means a student who is a resident student 9
as defined in RCW 28B.15.012. 10
(8) "Technical college" includes those public institutions of 11
higher education with the mission of conducting workforce education, 12
basic skills, literacy programs, and programs that meet specific 13
industry needs. 14
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. (1) The Washington 13 free guarantee is 15
established to provide up to 45 credits of tuition-free technical 16
college for eligible students regardless of income beginning in the 17
2027-28 academic year. The office shall implement and administer the 18
guarantee and is authorized to establish rules necessary for 19
implementation of the guarantee.20
(2) The value of the award is the difference between the 21
recipient's tuition fees as defined in RCW 28B.15.020 and services 22
and activities fees as defined in RCW 28B.15.041, less the value of 23
any state-funded grant, scholarship, gift aid, and waiver assistance 24
the recipient receives, for up to 45 credits to be earned within two 25
academic years. 26
(3) To be eligible for the guarantee, a resident student must:27
(a) Have graduated high school from a public high school in the 28
state of Washington or earned a high school equivalency certificate, 29
as described in RCW 28B.50.536, in the same or immediately preceding 30
academic year in which the student enrolls in any technical college;31
(b) Not have previously earned an associate's degree;32
(c) Be enrolled at least part time in a technical college in an 33
eligible degree or certificate program; and 34
(d) Complete the free application for federal student aid or the 35
Washington application for state financial aid for the academic year 36
in which the student seeks eligibility for the guarantee.37
(4) Qualifications for receipt and renewal of the guarantee 38
include maintaining satisfactory academic progress toward completion 39
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of an eligible degree or certificate program as determined by the 1
office and established in rule. 2
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. Beginning in the 2027-28 academic year, 3
each technical college must designate a staff member to provide 4
student support and coordinate wraparound services for recipients to 5
reduce or help to reduce barriers that threaten completion of 6
eligible degree or certificate programs. Support and wraparound 7
services under this section may be provided no longer than the 8
recipient receives benefits under the guarantee.9
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. The office and the board may adopt, and 10
revise as necessary, rules to implement this chapter.11
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. A new section is added to chapter 28A.230 12
RCW to read as follows: 13
School districts are encouraged to facilitate one-on-one meetings 14
between counselors and students in the 12th grade whose income status 15
is at or below 70 percent of the state median family income for the 16
purposes of explaining their award options under the Washington 17
college grant created in RCW 28B.92.200 and the Washington 13 free 18
guarantee established under section 2 of this act. Income status may 19
be determined by the free application for federal student aid, 20
qualification to receive free or reduced-price lunch, eligibility for 21
the college bound scholarship program established in chapter 28B.118 22
RCW, or other criteria established in an institution's policy.23
Sec. 6. RCW 28A.230.310 and 2023 c 271 s 7 are each amended to 24
read as follows: 25
(1)(a) Beginning with the 2020-21 school year, all school 26
districts with a high school must provide a financial aid advising 27
day, as defined in RCW 28A.300.815. 28
(b) Districts must provide both a financial aid advising day and 29
notification of financial aid opportunities at the beginning of each 30
school year to parents and guardians of any student entering the 31
twelfth grade. The notification must include information regarding:32
(i) The eligibility requirements of the Washington college grant 33
and the Washington 13 free guarantee established under section 2 of 34
this act; 35
(ii) The requirements of the financial aid advising day;36
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(iii) The process for opting out of the financial aid advising 1
day; and 2
(iv) Any community-based resources available to assist parents 3
and guardians in understanding the requirements of and how to 4
complete the free application for federal student aid and the 5
Washington application for state financial aid. 6
(2) Districts may administer the financial aid advising day, as 7
defined in RCW 28A.300.815, in accordance with information-sharing 8
requirements set in the high school and beyond plan in RCW 9
28A.230.212 and 28A.230.215. 10
(3) The Washington state school directors' association, with 11
assistance from the office of the superintendent of public 12
instruction and the Washington student achievement council, shall 13
develop a model policy and procedure that school district board of 14
directors may adopt. The model policy and procedure must describe 15
minimum standards for a financial aid advising day as defined in RCW 16
28A.300.815. 17
(4) School districts are encouraged to engage in the Washington 18
student achievement council's financial aid advising training.19
(5) The office of the superintendent of public instruction may 20
adopt rules for the implementation of this section.21
Sec. 7. RCW 28B.50.940 and 2022 c 214 s 3 are each amended to 22
read as follows: 23
Subject to availability of amounts appropriated for this specific 24
purpose, the college board shall administer a free application for 25
federal student aid and Washington application for state financial 26
aid outreach and completion initiative pilot program.27
(1) The college board shall select community or technical 28
colleges to participate in the pilot program. The colleges selected 29
to participate must each be located within educational service 30
districts that are in the bottom two for free application for federal 31
student aid completion rates when combining their respective school 32
districts' free application for federal student aid completion rates 33
over the past three completed academic years prior to June 9, 2022. 34
Colleges selected to participate shall employ outreach specialists to 35
work directly with the high schools located in the corresponding 36
educational service district. It is the legislature's intent that the 37
outreach specialists be employed at a ratio of one to 600 high school 38
seniors within the corresponding educational service district. The 39
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outreach specialists shall make significant contact with high school 1
students and their families for the purpose of increasing free 2
application for federal student aid and Washington application for 3
state financial aid completion rates. The outreach specialists shall 4
use the free application for federal student aid and Washington 5
application for state financial aid data maintained by the student 6
achievement council to conduct targeted outreach and free application 7
for federal student aid and Washington application for state 8
financial aid completion assistance to high school seniors. The 9
outreach specialists shall also provide information on how to access 10
private scholarships and, for eligible seniors, award options under 11
the Washington 13 free guarantee . The outreach specialists shall 12
conduct other outreach as appropriate, including virtual or in-person 13
presentations with students and families, announcements on school 14
intercoms and social media channels, outreach to recent high school 15
graduates as peer messengers, and events at school college or career 16
fairs. 17
(2) The college board shall report annually to the appropriate 18
committees of the legislature in accordance with RCW 43.01.036 19
beginning December 1, 2023, on the free application for federal 20
student aid and Washington application for state financial aid 21
outreach and completion initiative pilot program. The report must 22
include details on how the colleges selected used the funding and how 23
the initiatives worked to increase free application for federal 24
student aid and Washington application for state financial aid 25
completion rates. The report must also include before and after free 26
application for federal student aid and Washington application for 27
state financial aid completion data and specific details about the 28
number of high school students assisted in completing the free 29
application for federal student aid and Washington application for 30
state financial aid. 31
Sec. 8. RCW 28A.230.212 and 2024 c 66 s 7 are each amended to 32
read as follows: 33
(1) Each student must have a high school and beyond plan to guide 34
the student's high school experience and inform course taking that is 35
aligned with the student's goals for education or training and career 36
after high school. 37
(2)(a) By grade seven, each student must be administered a career 38
interest and skills inventory which is intended to be used to inform 39
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grade eight course taking and development of an initial high school 1
and beyond plan. No later than grade eight, each student must have 2
begun development of a high school and beyond plan that includes a 3
proposed plan for first-year high school courses aligned with 4
graduation requirements and secondary and postsecondary goals.5
(b) For each student who has not earned a score of level 3 or 4 6
on the middle school mathematics assessment identified in RCW 7
28A.655.070 by grade nine, the high school and beyond plan must be 8
updated to ensure that the student takes a mathematics course in both 9
grades nine and 10. These courses may include career and technical 10
education equivalencies in mathematics adopted pursuant to RCW 11
28A.230.097. 12
(3) With staff support, students must update their high school 13
and beyond plan annually, at a minimum, to review academic progress 14
and inform future course taking. 15
(a) The high school and beyond plan must be updated in grade 10 16
to ((reflect high school assessment results in RCW 28A.655.061,)) 17
ensure student access to advanced course options per the district's 18
academic acceleration policy in RCW 28A.320.195, assess progress 19
toward identified goals, and revised as necessary for changing 20
interests, goals, and needs. 21
(b) Each school district shall provide students who have not met 22
the standard on state assessments or who are behind in completion of 23
credits or graduation pathway options with the opportunity to access 24
interventions and academic supports, courses, or both, designed to 25
enable students to meet all high school graduation requirements. The 26
parents or legal guardians shall be notified about these 27
opportunities as included in the student's high school and beyond 28
plan, preferably through a student-led conference, including the 29
parents or legal guardians, and at least annually until the student 30
is on track to graduate. 31
(c) For students with an individualized education program, the 32
high school and beyond plan must be developed and updated in 33
alignment with their school to postschool transition plan. The high 34
school and beyond plan must be developed and updated in a similar 35
manner and with similar school personnel as for all other students.36
(4) School districts shall involve parents and legal guardians to 37
the greatest extent feasible in the process of developing and 38
updating the high school and beyond plan. 39
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(a) High school and beyond plans must be provided to students and 1
their parents or legal guardians in a language the students and 2
parents or legal guardians understand and in accordance with the 3
school district's language access policy and procedures as required 4
under chapter 28A.183 RCW, which may require language assistance for 5
students and parents or legal guardians with limited English 6
proficiency. 7
(b) School districts must annually provide students in grades 8
eight through 12, and their parents or legal guardians, with 9
comprehensive information about the graduation pathway options 10
offered by the district and are strongly encouraged to begin 11
providing this information to students in grade six. School districts 12
must provide this information in a manner that conforms with the 13
school district's language access policy and procedures as required 14
under chapter 28A.183 RCW. 15
(5) School districts are strongly encouraged to partner with 16
student serving, community-based organizations that support career 17
and college exploration and preparation for postsecondary and career 18
pathways. Partnerships may include high school and beyond plan 19
coordination and planning, data-sharing agreements, and safe and 20
secure access to individual student's high school and beyond plans.21
(6) All high school and beyond plans must, at a minimum, include 22
the following elements: 23
(a) Identification of career goals and interests, aided by a 24
skills and interest assessment; 25
(b) Identification of secondary and postsecondary education and 26
training goals; 27
(c) An academic plan for course taking that: 28
(i) Informs students about course options for satisfying state 29
and local graduation requirements; 30
(ii) Satisfies state and local graduation requirements;31
(iii) Aligns with the student's secondary and postsecondary 32
goals, which can include education, training, and career preparation;33
(iv) Identifies available advanced course sequences per the 34
school district's academic acceleration policy, as described in RCW 35
28A.320.195, that include dual credit courses or other programs and 36
are aligned with the student's postsecondary goals;37
(v) Informs students about the potential impacts of their course 38
selections on postsecondary opportunities; 39
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(vi) Identifies available career and technical education 1
equivalency courses that can satisfy core subject area graduation 2
requirements under RCW 28A.230.097; 3
(vii) If applicable, identifies career and technical education 4
and work-based learning opportunities that can lead to technical 5
college certifications and apprenticeships; and 6
(viii) If applicable, identifies opportunities for credit 7
recovery and acceleration, including partial and mastery-based credit 8
accrual to eliminate barriers for on-time grade level progression and 9
graduation per RCW 28A.320.192; 10
(d) Evidence that the student has received the following 11
information on federal and state financial aid programs that help pay 12
for the costs of a postsecondary program: 13
(i) ((The)) Beginning in grade nine and each academic year 14
thereafter, the college bound scholarship program established in 15
chapter 28B.118 RCW, the Washington college grant created in RCW 16
28B.92.200, the Washington 13 free guarantee established in section 2 17
of this act, and other scholarship opportunities; 18
(ii) The documentation necessary for completing state and federal 19
financial aid applications; application timeliness and submission 20
deadlines; and the importance of submitting applications early;21
(iii) Information specific to students who are or have been the 22
subject of a dependency proceeding pursuant to chapter 13.34 RCW, who 23
are or are at risk of being homeless, and whose family member or 24
legal guardian will be required to provide financial and tax 25
information necessary to complete applications; 26
(iv) Opportunities to participate in advising days and seminars 27
that assist students and, when necessary, their parents or legal 28
guardians, with filling out financial aid applications in accordance 29
with RCW 28A.300.815; and 30
(v) A sample financial aid letter and a link to the financial aid 31
calculator created in RCW 28B.77.280; and 32
(e) By the end of grade 12, a current resume or activity log that 33
provides a written compilation of the student's education, any work 34
experience, extracurricular activities, and any community service 35
including how the school district has recognized the community 36
service pursuant to RCW 28A.320.193. 37
(7) Any decision on whether a student has met the state board of 38
education's requirements for a high school and beyond plan shall 39
remain at the local level, and a school district may establish 40
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additional, local requirements for a high school and beyond plan to 1
serve the needs and interests of its students and the purposes of 2
this section. 3
(8) The state board of education shall adopt rules to implement 4
this section. 5
NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. Sections 1 through 4 of this act 6
constitute a new chapter in Title 28B RCW.7
NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. This act may be known and cited as the 8
Washington 13 free guarantee act.9
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