AN
ACT Relating to higher education scholarships; reenacting and amending RCW
43.79A.040; adding a new chapter to Title 28B RCW; and declaring an emergency.
BE IT
ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 1. The
legislature intends 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. 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.
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.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 2. 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 and students participating in
home-based instruction as provided in chapter 28A.200 RCW who meet both an
academic and a financial eligibility criteria.
(a)
Academic eligibility criteria shall be defined as follows:
(i)
Beginning with the graduating class of 2002, students graduating from public
and approved private high schools under chapter 28A.195 RCW must be in the top
fifteen 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, and students participating in home-based instruction
as provided in chapter 28A.200 RCW 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.
(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. 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.80.806 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.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 3. 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 section 2 of this act as
follows:
(1)
The first scholarships shall be awarded to eligible students enrolling in
postsecondary education in the 2002-03 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 section
2(1)(a) of this act, 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.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 4. 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.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 5. This
chapter shall not be construed to change current state requirements for
students who received home‑based instruction under chapter 28A.200 RCW.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 6. (1)
The Washington promise scholarship account is created in the custody of the
state treasurer. The account shall be a nontreasury account retaining its
interest earnings in accordance with RCW 43.79A.040.
(2)
The higher education coordinating board shall deposit in the account all money
received for the program. The account shall be self-sustaining and consist of
funds appropriated by the legislature for the Washington promise scholarship
program, private contributions to the program, and refunds of Washington
promise scholarships.
(3)
Expenditures from the account shall be used for scholarships to eligible
students.
(4)
With the exception of the operating costs associated with the management of the
account by the treasurer's office as authorized in chapter 43.79A RCW, the
account shall be credited with all investment income earned by the account.
(5)
Disbursements from the account are exempt from appropriations and the allotment
provisions of chapter 43.88 RCW.
(6)
Disbursements from the account shall be made only on the authorization of the
higher education coordinating board.
Sec.
7. RCW
43.79A.040 and 2001 c 201 s 4 and 2001 c 184 s 4 are each reenacted and amended
to read as follows:
(1)
Money in the treasurer's trust fund may be deposited, invested, and reinvested
by the state treasurer in accordance with RCW 43.84.080 in the same manner and
to the same extent as if the money were in the state treasury.
(2)
All income received from investment of the treasurer's trust fund shall be set
aside in an account in the treasury trust fund to be known as the investment
income account.
(3)
The investment income account may be utilized for the payment of purchased
banking services on behalf of treasurer's trust funds including, but not
limited to, depository, safekeeping, and disbursement functions for the state
treasurer or affected state agencies. The investment income account is subject
in all respects to chapter 43.88 RCW, but no appropriation is required for
payments to financial institutions. Payments shall occur prior to distribution
of earnings set forth in subsection (4) of this section.
(4)(a)
Monthly, the state treasurer shall distribute the earnings credited to the
investment income account to the state general fund except under (b) and (c) of
this subsection.
(b)
The following accounts and funds shall receive their proportionate share of
earnings based upon each account's or fund's average daily balance for the
period: The Washington promise scholarship account, the college savings
program account, the Washington advanced college tuition payment program
account, the agricultural local fund, the American Indian scholarship endowment
fund, the basic health plan self-insurance reserve account, the Washington
international exchange scholarship endowment fund, the developmental
disabilities endowment trust fund, the energy account, the fair fund, the game
farm alternative account, the grain inspection revolving fund, the juvenile
accountability incentive account, the rural rehabilitation account, the stadium
and exhibition center account, the youth athletic facility account, the
self-insurance revolving fund, the sulfur dioxide abatement account, and the
children's trust fund. However, the earnings to be distributed shall first be
reduced by the allocation to the state treasurer's service fund pursuant to RCW
43.08.190.
(c)
The following accounts and funds shall receive eighty percent of their
proportionate share of earnings based upon each account's or fund's average
daily balance for the period: The advanced right of way revolving fund, the
advanced environmental mitigation revolving account, the city and county
advance right-of-way revolving fund, the federal narcotics asset forfeitures
account, the high occupancy vehicle account, the local rail service assistance
account, and the miscellaneous transportation programs account.
(5)
In conformance with Article II, section 37 of the state Constitution, no trust
accounts or funds shall be allocated earnings without the specific affirmative
directive of this section.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 8.
Sections 1 through 6 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 28B RCW.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 9. 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 takes effect immediately.
