AN ACT Relating to an outcome evaluation of the national guard youth challenge program; adding a new section to chapter 28A.300 RCW; and providing an expiration date.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1.  A new section is added to chapter 28A.300 RCW to read as follows:

(1) The Washington state institute for public policy shall conduct a longitudinal outcome evaluation of the national guard youth challenge program to determine the impact of the program on students as they proceed through high school and into postsecondary education or their careers. The study shall follow the students through high school and beyond. The study shall include a review of national studies of the youth challenge program and other at-risk programs examining K-12, postsecondary, employment, and other outcomes of student cohorts five years after program completion. The evaluation shall compare outcomes of students who participated in the program with a similar group of eligible students who did not participate and include a cost-benefit analysis of program effectiveness. The office of the superintendent of public instruction, the education data center, and the national guard youth challenge program shall provide the institute with the data necessary to conduct the evaluation. The institute shall submit an interim report by December 15, 2022, and a final report on study findings to the governor and relevant committees of the legislature by December 15, 2024.

(2) This section expires August 15, 2025.

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