HB 2807-S - DIGEST

(DIGEST AS ENACTED)

     Declares an intent to strengthen the link between postsecondary education and K-12 education by creating the Washington promise scholarship program for academically successful high school graduates from low and middle-income families.

     Finds that, increasingly, an individual's economic viability is contingent on postsecondary educational opportunities, yet the state's full financial obligation is eliminated after the twelfth grade.  Students who work hard in kindergarten through twelfth grade and successfully complete high school with high academic marks may not have the financial ability to attend college because they cannot obtain financial aid or the financial aid is insufficient.

     Declares that the Washington promise scholarship program shall not be funded at the expense of the state need grant program as defined in RCW 28B.10.800 through 28B.10.824.  In administering the state need grant and promise scholarship programs, the higher education coordinating board shall first ensure that eligibility for state need grant recipients is at least fifty-five percent of state median family income.