BILL REQ. #:  S-0030.1 

Read first time 01/15/09.   Referred to Committee on Higher Education & Workforce Development.

     AN ACT Relating to the Washington promise scholarship program; and amending RCW 28B.119.005, 28B.119.010, and 28B.119.020.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1   RCW 28B.119.005 and 2002 c 204 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     The legislature intends to strengthen ((the link between postsecondary education and K-12 education)) economic opportunities of high achieving Washington youth from low-income and middle-income families by creating the Washington promise scholarship program ((for academically successful high school graduates from low and middle-income families)). The legislature 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.)) but that students who ((work hard in kindergarten through twelfth grade and)) successfully complete high school with high academic marks or who have achieved high marks on scholastic achievement tests may not have the financial ability to attend college because they cannot obtain financial aid or the financial aid is insufficient.

Sec. 2   RCW 28B.119.010 and 2004 c 275 s 60 are each amended to read as follows:
     The higher education coordinating board shall design the Washington promise scholarship program based on the following parameters:
     (1) Scholarships shall be awarded to students graduating from public and approved private high schools under chapter 28A.195 RCW, students participating in home-based instruction as provided in chapter 28A.200 RCW, and persons twenty-one years of age or younger receiving a GED certificate, who meet both an academic and a financial eligibility criteria. Students must be "resident students" as defined in RCW 28B.15.012.
     (a) Academic eligibility criteria shall be defined as follows:
     (i) Beginning with the graduating class of ((2002)) 2010, students graduating from public and approved private high schools under chapter 28A.195 RCW must be in the top ((fifteen)) ten percent of their graduating class, as identified by each respective high school at the completion of the first term of the student's senior year; or
     (ii) Students ((graduating from public high schools, approved private high schools under chapter 28A.195 RCW, students)) participating in home-based instruction as provided in chapter 28A.200 RCW, and persons twenty-one years of age or younger receiving a GED certificate, must ((equal or exceed a cumulative scholastic assessment test I score of twelve hundred on their first attempt or must equal or exceed a composite American college test score of twenty-seven on their first attempt)) achieve a score on either the SAT or ACT that is above the ninetieth percentile.
     (b) To meet the financial eligibility criteria, a student's family income shall not exceed one hundred thirty-five percent of the state median family income adjusted for family size, as determined by the higher education coordinating board for each graduating class. Students not meeting the eligibility requirements for the first year of scholarship benefits may reapply for the second year of benefits, but must still meet the income standard set by the board for the student's graduating class.
     (2) Promise scholarships are not intended to supplant any grant, scholarship, or tax program related to postsecondary education. If the board finds that promise scholarships supplant or reduce any grant, scholarship, or tax program for categories of students, then the board shall adjust the financial eligibility criteria or the amount of scholarship to the level necessary to avoid supplanting.
     (3) Within available funds, each qualifying student shall receive two consecutive annual awards, the value of each not to exceed the full-time annual resident tuition ((rates charged by Washington's community colleges)) fees charged at the University of Washington. The higher education coordinating board shall award scholarships to as many students as possible from among those qualifying under this section.
     (4) By October 15th of each year, the board shall determine the award amount of the scholarships, after taking into consideration the availability of funds.
     (5) The scholarships may only be used for undergraduate coursework at accredited institutions of higher education in the state of Washington.
     (6) The scholarships may be used for undergraduate coursework at Oregon institutions of higher education that are part of the border county higher education opportunity project in RCW 28B.76.685 when those institutions offer programs not available at accredited institutions of higher education in Washington state.
     (7) The scholarships may be used for college-related expenses, including but not limited to, tuition, room and board, books, and materials.
     (8) The scholarships may not be awarded to any student who is pursuing a degree in theology.
     (9) The higher education coordinating board may establish satisfactory progress standards for the continued receipt of the promise scholarship.
     (10) The higher education coordinating board shall establish the time frame within which the student must use the scholarship.

Sec. 3   RCW 28B.119.020 and 2002 c 204 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
     The higher education coordinating board, with the assistance of the office of the superintendent of public instruction, shall implement and administer the Washington promise scholarship program described in RCW 28B.119.010 as follows:
     (1) The first scholarships awarded after 2009 shall be ((awarded)) to eligible students enrolling in postsecondary education in the ((2002-03)) 2010-11 academic year.
     (2) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall provide information to the higher education coordinating board that is necessary for implementation of the program. The higher education coordinating board and the office of the superintendent of public instruction shall jointly establish a timeline and procedures necessary for accurate and timely data reporting.
     (a) For students meeting the academic eligibility criteria as provided in RCW 28B.119.010(1)(a), the office of the superintendent of public instruction shall provide the higher education coordinating board with student names, addresses, birth dates, and unique numeric identifiers.
     (b) Public and approved private high schools under chapter 28A.195 RCW shall provide requested information necessary for implementation of the program to the office of the superintendent of public instruction within the established timeline.
     (c) All student data is confidential and may be used solely for the purposes of providing scholarships to eligible students.
     (3) The higher education coordinating board may adopt rules to implement this chapter.