Washington State House of Representatives Office of Program Research | BILL ANALYSIS |
Higher Education Committee |
HB 2386
This analysis was prepared by non-partisan legislative staff for the use of legislative members in their deliberations. This analysis is not a part of the legislation nor does it constitute a statement of legislative intent. |
Brief Description: Providing room and board for certain college bound scholarship students.
Sponsors: Representative Hudgins.
Brief Summary of Bill |
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Hearing Date: 1/10/18
Staff: Megan Mulvihill (786-7304).
Background:
The College Bound Scholarship.
The College Board Scholarship (CBS) program was established in 2007 to provide guaranteed four-year tuition to students from low-income families. The first CBS awards were granted to the graduating high school class of 2012. Eligible students for the CBS include those who:
qualify for free or reduced-price lunches in the seventh grade; or
are dependent from parents or guardians, or are receiving extended foster care services; and
are in grades 7 through 12; or
are between the ages of 18 and 21 years and have not graduated from high school.
A student may also be eligible if they were a dependent who was adopted between the ages of 14 and 18 with a negotiated adoption agreement that includes continued eligibility in the CBS program.
Beginning in the seventh grade, eligible students are notified of their eligibility and the requirements for award of the scholarship. To be eligible to receive the CBS, a student must sign a pledge during the seventh or eighth grade that includes a commitment to graduate from high school with at least a C-average and no felony convictions. To receive the CBS, the student must graduate having fulfilled the CBS pledge requirements. Upon graduation, the student's family income will be assessed, and if it does not exceed 65 percent of the state median family income, the student will receive a scholarship. The CBS recipients that attend public two-year or four-year institutions of higher education receive an award to cover the cost of tuition and fees, minus any state-funded grant, scholarship, or waiver assistance, plus $500 for books and materials. The student must maintain satisfactory academic progress and may not receive the scholarship for more than four full-time years.
The McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Act.
The federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Act (McKinney-Vento Act) requires local school districts to identify homeless students and provide them with support. Under the McKinney-Vento Act homeless children are defined as "individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence." The McKinney-Vento Act provides examples of children who would fall under this definition, including children and youth who are:
sharing housing due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason;
living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or campgrounds due to lack of alternative accommodations;
living in emergency or transitional shelters;
abandoned in hospitals;
awaiting foster care placement;
living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations; and
migratory and live in one of the above situations.
Summary of Bill:
Public two- and four-year institutions of higher education that have college or university-owned housing must provide standard room and board to CBS recipients who upon graduation from high school are considered homeless under the McKinney-Vento Act.
Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Requested on 01/05/2018.
Effective Date: The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of the session in which the bill is passed.