Early education scholarship

AN ACT Relating to establishing the supporting our early 1
education degree seekers scholarship; adding a new chapter to Title 2
28B RCW; creating a new section; and providing an expiration date.3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that:5
(1) The share of families reporting difficulty securing a spot in 6
licensed child care jumped from 22 percent in December 2021 to 58 7
percent in January 2022. The second most cited reason for staffing 8
vacancies in licensed family homes is staffing issues and lack of 9
staff capacity, and nearly 50 percent of child care centers report 10
vacancies because of staffing issues. Licensed child care providers 11
continue to struggle with recruiting and retaining staff in a tight 12
labor market, especially as retail, hospitality, and service 13
industries offer more competitive wages and benefits. Without 14
targeted action, these access gaps in high quality care and their 15
unequal impacts on women are likely to widen; 16
(2) The 2020 child care policy recommendations by the child care 17
collaborative task force recommended full funding for professional 18
development, relationship-based professional development, and 19
financial incentives to support providers in meeting staff 20
qualifications, ongoing continuous quality improvement, and achieving 21
H-2758.1
HOUSE BILL 2438
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2026 Regular Session
By Representatives Bergquist, Ybarra, Scott, Pollet, Reed, and Nance
Read first time 01/13/26. Referred to Committee on Postsecondary
Education & Workforce.
p. 1 HB 2438
high quality levels in early achievers and school-age quality 1
standards; 2
(3) When the Washington advanced college tuition payment program 3
was enacted, the legislature envisioned that establishing a 4
scholarship for those in financial need would be a permissible use of 5
the moneys from the payment program account; 6
(4) The Washington advanced college tuition payment program 7
account in chapter 28B.95 RCW has a surplus of funding and is funded 8
at a level of approximately 178 percent; 9
(5) In June 2025, the internal revenue service issued an 10
informational letter stating that section 529 of the internal revenue 11
code does not explicitly restrict a state from transferring credit or 12
certificate purchases in a qualified tuition program; and13
(6) It is an appropriate use of a portion of the surplus from the 14
Washington advanced college tuition payment program account to 15
provide financial aid to students enrolled in eligible early 16
childhood education programs. 17
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. The definitions in this section apply 18
throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires 19
otherwise.20
(1) "Board" means the state board for community and technical 21
colleges. 22
(2) "Community college" has the same meaning as in RCW 23
28B.50.030. 24
(3) "Eligible degree or certificate program" means:25
(a) An early childhood stackable certificate; or26
(b) An early childhood associate degree. 27
(4) "Gift aid" means financial aid received from the federal Pell 28
grant, the state need grant program under chapter 28B.92 RCW, the 29
college bound scholarship program under chapter 28B.118 RCW, the 30
opportunity grant program under chapter 28B.50 RCW, the opportunity 31
scholarship program under chapter 28B.145 RCW, or any other state 32
grant or scholarship program that provides funds for educational 33
purposes with no obligation of repayment. "Gift aid" does not include 34
student loans or work-study programs. 35
(5) "Office" means the office of student financial assistance.36
(6) "Recipient" means an eligible student who has been awarded 37
the scholarship. 38
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(7) "Resident student" has the same meaning as defined in RCW 1
28B.15.012. 2
(8) "Scholarship" means the supporting our early education degree 3
seekers scholarship. 4
(9) "Technical college" has the same meaning as defined in RCW 5
28B.50.030. 6
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1) The supporting our early education 7
degree seekers scholarship is established to provide up to 90 credits 8
of tuition-free community or technical college for students enrolled 9
in eligible early childhood education and assistance degrees or 10
programs beginning in the 2027-28 academic year. The office shall 11
implement and administer the scholarship.12
(2) To be eligible for the scholarship, a resident student must:13
(a) Have a family income at or between 65 to 150 percent of the 14
state median family income, adjusted for family size as established 15
and updated annually by the student achievement council;16
(b) Not have previously earned an associate's degree;17
(c) Be enrolled at least part time in a community or technical 18
college in an eligible degree or certificate program;19
(d) Complete the free application for federal student aid or the 20
Washington application for state financial aid for the academic year 21
in which the student seeks eligibility for the scholarship; and22
(e) Sign an attestation to work in an early learning center for 23
at least two years upon completion of an eligible degree or 24
certificate program. 25
(3) Qualifications for receipt and renewal of the scholarship 26
include maintaining satisfactory academic progress toward completion 27
of an eligible degree or certificate program as determined by the 28
office and established in rule. 29
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. (1) The amount of $10,000,000 from the 30
Washington advanced college tuition payment program account created 31
in RCW 28B.95.060 must be used for recipient grant awards under the 32
scholarship as outlined in this section. Funding may only be 33
allocated if the actuarial funded status remains at or above 120 34
percent.35
(2) The value of a grant award is: 36
(a) The difference between the recipient's tuition fees as 37
defined in RCW 28B.15.020 and services and activities fees as defined 38
p. 3 HB 2438
in RCW 28B.15.041, less the value of any state-funded grant including 1
the college bound scholarship program established in chapter 28B.118 2
RCW and the Washington college grant program created in RCW 3
28B.92.200, scholarship, gift aid, or waiver assistance the recipient 4
receives, for up to 90 credits to be earned within three academic 5
years; and 6
(b) Student support and wraparound services, provided by each 7
community or technical college, to reduce or help to reduce barriers 8
that threaten completion of eligible degree or certificate programs. 9
Support and wraparound services under this section may be provided no 10
longer than the recipient receives benefits under the scholarship.11
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. The caseload forecast council shall 12
estimate the anticipated caseload of the scholarship and submit this 13
forecast as required in RCW 43.88C.020.14
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. The office and the board may adopt, and 15
revise as necessary, rules to implement this chapter.16
NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. Sections 1 through 6 of this act 17
constitute a new chapter in Title 28B RCW.18
NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. (1) The student achievement council, in 19
collaboration with the state board for community and technical 20
colleges, shall conduct a study on the sustainability of the 21
scholarship to include at a minimum the following information: Any 22
increase in enrollments at community or technical colleges; any 23
decreases in enrollments elsewhere at institutions of higher 24
education; and changes in recipient persistence, completion, and 25
time-to-degree rates in eligible degree or certificate programs.26
(2) The study must include an analysis on the demand for student 27
services, such as advising and student success courses, 28
recommendations to improve student services and outcomes, and the 29
financial impact of the scholarship on recipients.30
(3) The student achievement council shall report its findings to 31
the relevant committees of the legislature, in accordance with RCW 32
43.01.036, by October 1, 2027. 33
(4) This section expires July 1, 2028. 34
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