5781-S2 AMH .... H2595.1

5781-S2 AMH .... H2595.1

2SSB 5781 - H AMD 504 ADOPTED 4-17-93

By Representatives Sommers and Others

Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:

"NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that the proportion of the state budget dedicated to postsecondary educational programs has decreased for two decades. At the same time, major technological, economic, and demographic changes have exacerbated the need for improved training and education to maintain a high-quality, competitive work force, and a well-educated populace to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century. Therefore, the legislature finds that there is increasing need for postsecondary educational opportunities for citizens of the state of Washington.

The legislature declares that the policy of the state of Washington shall be to improve the access to, and the quality of, this state's postsecondary educational system. The budgetary policy of the state of Washington shall be to provide a level of protection and commitment to the state's postsecondary educational system commensurate with the responsibility of this state to the educational and professional improvement of its citizens and work force.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. It is the policy of the state of Washington that the essential requirements level budget calculation for institutions of higher education include enrollment levels necessary to maintain, by educational sector, the participation rate funded in the 1993 fiscal year. The participation rate shall be based on the state's estimated population ages seventeen and above by appropriate age groups.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. It is the policy of the state of Washington that the governor and legislature, in their budget deliberations, consider adding sufficient incremental enrollment increases to achieve, by the year 2010, the goals, by educational sector, adopted by the higher education coordinating board in its enrollment plan entitled "Design for the 21st Century: Expanding Higher Education Opportunities in Washington." In the biennial operating budget documents submitted to the legislature, the governor shall display information on the number of additional students necessary and the amount of money needed to fund these incremental enrollment increases.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. The participation rate used to calculate enrollment levels under sections 2 and 3 of this act shall be based on fall enrollment reported in the higher education enrollment report as maintained by the office of financial management, fall enrollment as reported in the management information system of the state board for community and technical colleges, and the corresponding fall population forecast by the office of financial management. Formal estimates of the state participation rates and enrollment levels necessary to fulfill the requirements of sections 2 and 3 of this act shall be determined by the office of financial management as part of its responsibility to develop and maintain student enrollment forecasts for colleges and universities under RCW 43.62.050. Formal estimates of the state participation rates and enrollment levels required by this section shall be based on procedures and standards established by a technical work group consisting of staff from the higher education coordinating board, the state board for community and technical colleges, the fiscal and higher education committees of the house of representatives and the senate, and the office of financial management. Formal estimates of the state participation rates and enrollment levels required by this section shall be submitted to the fiscal committees of the house of representatives and senate on or before November 15th of each even-numbered year. The higher education coordinating board shall periodically review the enrollment goals set forth in sections 2 and 3 of this act and submit recommendations concerning modification of these goals to the governor and to the higher education committees of the house of representatives and the senate.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. It is the policy of the state of Washington that financial need not be a barrier to participation in the state higher education system. In order to implement that policy, the higher education coordinating board shall restructure the state's financial aid programs into a comprehensive program known as college promise. In restructuring the programs, the board shall follow these goals:

(1) For all need-based financial aid programs under RCW 28B.10.790 through 28B.10.824 and chapters 28B.12 and 28B.101 RCW:

(a) Through a mix of federal, state, and other resources:

(i) Limit the debt of an undergraduate student to no more than one-half of a student's cost of attendance; and

(ii) Provide more self-help opportunities than grant aid to middle-income students, and approximately equal amounts of self-help opportunities and grant aid to low-income and lower middle-income students. Self-help opportunities include work study and loans;

(b) In determining eligibility for state financial aid programs, shelter home equity on a family's principal place of residence, and shelter a reasonable portion of savings and farm or business net worth, each insofar as is permissible under state and federal law;

(d) Strive to preserve a range of educational options for needy students, including choice of institutions and programs;

(e) Recognize otherwise unfunded equipment and assistance needed to accommodate students with disabilities reasonably;

(f) Deliver clear and timely information to current and future postsecondary students about the costs of attending college and available financial aid; and

(g) Classify needy students by family income levels based on the state's median income for a family of four, adjusted annually for family size and changes in the state's median income. The classification system shall be as follows:

(i) Low income means zero to fifty percent of the state's median income;

(ii) Lower middle income means fifty-one to seventy-five percent of the state's median income; and

(iii) Middle income means seventy-six to one hundred twenty-five percent of the state's median income.

(2) For the state need grant program under RCW 28B.10.790 through 28B.10.824: As funds are available, expand the program to include new populations of resident students in the following priority order, ensuring that undergraduate students with the most demonstrated financial need receive full grants before less needy students receive any grant:

(a) Low-income undergraduates;

(b) Lower middle-income undergraduates;

(d) Resident graduate and professional students, following the income priorities established for undergraduate students.

(3) For the state work study program under chapter 28B.12 RCW: Increase employment opportunities including off-campus job opportunities with off-campus community service employers.

(4) For students whose parents did not complete a higher education degree or certificate: Determine the feasibility of providing grants to needy first generation scholars.

Sec. 6. RCW 28B.15.515 and 1991 c 353 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The boards of trustees of the community college districts may operate summer schools on either a self-supporting or a state-funded basis.

If summer school is operated on a self-supporting basis, the fees charged shall be retained by the colleges, and shall be sufficient to cover the direct costs, which are instructional salaries and related benefits, supplies, publications, and records.

Community colleges that have self-supporting summer schools shall continue to receive general fund state support for vocational programs that require that students enroll in a four quarter sequence of courses that includes summer quarter due to clinical or laboratory requirements and for ungraded courses limited to adult basic education, vocational apprenticeship, aging and retirement, small business management, industrial first aid, and parent education.

(2)((~~(a)~~)) The board of trustees of a community college district may permit the district's state-funded, full-time equivalent enrollment level, as provided in the operating budget appropriations act, to vary ((~~by plus or minus two percent each fiscal year unless otherwise authorized in the operating budget appropriations act~~)). If the variance is above the state-funded level, the district may charge those students above the state-funded level a fee equivalent to the amount of tuition and fees that are charged students enrolled in state-funded courses. These fees shall be retained by the colleges.

((~~(b) Any community college that in 1990‑91 has an enrollment above the state-funded level but below the authorized variance may increase its excess enrollments to within the variance.~~

(c) Community colleges that currently have excess enrollments more than the authorized variance, by means of enrollments that would have otherwise been eligible for state funding, shall reduce those excess enrollments to within the authorized variance by September 1, 1995, in at least equal annual reductions, commencing with the 1991‑92 fiscal year.

(d) Except as permitted by (c) of this subsection, should the number of student-supported, full-time equivalent enrollments in any fiscal year fall outside the authorized variance, the college shall return by September 1st to the state general fund, an amount equal to the college's full average state appropriations per full-time equivalent student for such student-funded full-time equivalent outside the variance, unless otherwise provided in the operating budget appropriations act.))

(3) The state board for community and technical colleges ((~~education~~)) shall ensure compliance with this section.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. Sections 2 through 5 of this act are each added to chapter 28B.10 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and shall take effect July 1, 1993."