College bound scholarship

AN ACT Relating to equity in eligibility for the college bound 1
scholarship; and amending RCW 28B.118.010. 2
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:3
Sec. 1. RCW 28B.118.010 and 2024 c 323 s 2 are each amended to 4
read as follows: 5
The office of student financial assistance shall design the 6
Washington college bound scholarship program in accordance with this 7
section and in alignment with the Washington college grant program in 8
chapter 28B.92 RCW unless otherwise provided in this section. The 9
right of an eligible student to receive a college bound scholarship 10
vest upon enrollment in the program that is earned by meeting the 11
requirements of this section as it exists at the time of the 12
student's enrollment under subsection (2) of this section.13
(1) "Eligible students" are those students who:14
(a) Qualify for free or reduced-price lunches.15
(i) If a student qualifies in the seventh or eighth grade, the 16
student remains eligible even if the student does not receive free or 17
reduced-price lunches thereafter. 18
(ii) Beginning in the 2019-20 academic year, if a student 19
qualifies for free or reduced-price lunches in the ninth grade and 20
was previously ineligible during the seventh or eighth grade while he 21
Z-0311.1
SENATE BILL 5543
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Senators Boehnke, Slatter, Hasegawa, Nobles, Ramos, Valdez, and C.
Wilson; by request of State Board for Community and Technical
Colleges
Read first time 01/28/25. Referred to Committee on Higher Education
& Workforce Development.
p. 1 SB 5543
or she was a student in Washington, the student is eligible for the 1
college bound scholarship program; 2
(b) Are dependent pursuant to chapter 13.34 RCW and:3
(i) In grade seven through 12; or 4
(ii) Are between the ages of 18 and 21 and have not graduated 5
from high school; or 6
(c) Were dependent pursuant to chapter 13.34 RCW and were adopted 7
between the ages of 14 and 18 with a negotiated adoption agreement 8
that includes continued eligibility for the Washington state college 9
bound scholarship program pursuant to RCW 74.13A.025.10
(2)(a) Every eligible student shall be automatically enrolled by 11
the office of student financial assistance, with no action necessary 12
by the student, student's family, or student's guardians.13
(b) Eligible students and the students' parents or guardians 14
shall be notified of the student's enrollment in the Washington 15
college bound scholarship program and the requirements for award of 16
the scholarship by the office of student financial assistance. To the 17
maximum extent practicable, an eligible student must acknowledge 18
enrollment in the college bound scholarship program and receipt of 19
the requirements for award of the scholarship. 20
(c) The office of the superintendent of public instruction and 21
the department of children, youth, and families must provide the 22
office of student financial assistance with a list of eligible 23
students when requested. The office of student financial assistance 24
must determine the most effective methods, including timing and 25
frequency, to notify eligible students of enrollment in the 26
Washington college bound scholarship program. The office of student 27
financial assistance must take reasonable steps to ensure that 28
eligible students acknowledge enrollment in the college bound 29
scholarship program and receipt of the requirements for award of the 30
scholarship. The office of student financial assistance shall also 31
make available to every school district information, brochures, and 32
posters to increase awareness and to enable school districts to 33
notify eligible students directly or through school teachers, 34
counselors, or school activities. 35
(3) Except as provided in subsection (4) of this section, an 36
eligible student must: 37
(a)(i) Graduate from a public high school under RCW 38
28A.150.010((,)) or an approved private high school under chapter 39
28A.195 RCW in Washington, have received a high school equivalency 40
p. 2 SB 5543
certificate under RCW 28B.50.536, or have received home-based 1
instruction under chapter 28A.200 RCW; and 2
(ii) For eligible students enrolling in a postsecondary 3
educational institution for the first time beginning with the 2023-24 4
academic year, graduate with at least a "C" average for consideration 5
of direct admission to a public or private four-year institution of 6
higher education; 7
(b) Have no felony convictions; 8
(c) Be a resident student as defined in RCW 28B.15.012(2) (a) 9
through (e); and 10
(d) Have a family income that does not exceed 65 percent of the 11
state median family income at the time of high school graduation.12
(4)(((a))) An eligible student who is a resident student under 13
RCW 28B.15.012(2)(e) must also provide the institution, as defined in 14
RCW 28B.15.012, an affidavit indicating that the individual will file 15
an application to become a permanent resident at the earliest 16
opportunity the individual is eligible to do so and a willingness to 17
engage in any other activities necessary to acquire citizenship, 18
including but not limited to citizenship or civics review courses.19
(((b) For eligible students as defined in subsection (1)(b) and 20
(c) of this section, a student may also meet the requirement in 21
subsection (3)(a) of this section by receiving a high school 22
equivalency certificate as provided in RCW 28B.50.536.))23
(5)(a) For students attending two or four-year institutions of 24
higher education as defined in RCW 28B.10.016, the value of the award 25
shall be (i) the difference between the student's tuition and 26
required fees, less the value of any state-funded grant, scholarship, 27
or waiver assistance the student receives; (ii) plus five hundred 28
dollars for books and materials. 29
(b) For students attending private four-year institutions of 30
higher education in Washington, the award amount shall be the 31
representative average of awards granted to students in public 32
research universities in Washington or the representative average of 33
awards granted to students in public research universities in 34
Washington in the 2014-15 academic year, whichever is greater.35
(c) For students attending private vocational schools in 36
Washington, the award amount shall be the representative average of 37
awards granted to students in public community and technical colleges 38
in Washington or the representative average of awards granted to 39
p. 3 SB 5543
students in public community and technical colleges in Washington in 1
the 2014-15 academic year, whichever is greater. 2
(6) Eligible students must enroll no later than the fall term, as 3
defined by the institution of higher education, one academic year 4
following high school graduation. College bound scholarship 5
eligibility may not extend beyond six years or 150 percent of the 6
published length of the program in which the student is enrolled or 7
the credit or clock-hour equivalent. 8
(7) Institutions of higher education shall award the student all 9
need-based and merit-based financial aid for which the student would 10
otherwise qualify. The Washington college bound scholarship is 11
intended to replace unmet need, loans, and, at the student's option, 12
work-study award before any other grants or scholarships are reduced.13
(8) The first scholarships shall be awarded to students 14
graduating in 2012. 15
(9) The eligible student has a property right in the award, but 16
the state of Washington retains legal ownership of tuition units 17
awarded as scholarships under this chapter until the tuition units 18
are redeemed. These tuition units shall remain separately held from 19
any tuition units owned under chapter 28B.95 RCW by a Washington 20
college bound scholarship recipient. 21
(10) Should the recipient terminate his or her enrollment for any 22
reason during the academic year, the unused portion of the 23
scholarship tuition units shall revert to the Washington college 24
bound scholarship account. 25
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