S-1156.1

SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5477

BySenate Higher Education & Workforce Development (originally sponsored by Senators Dhingra, Hasegawa, Kuderer, Keiser, Hunt, Saldaña, Darneille, and Nguyen)

AN ACT Relating to requiring institutions of higher education to waive application fees for low-income students; and adding a new section to chapter 28B.15 RCW.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 28B.15 RCW to read as follows:

Institutions of higher education must waive application fees for eligible prospective students.

(1) "Eligible prospective students" are those who:

(a) Are a resident of the state of Washington in accordance with RCW 28B.15.012(2) (a) through (e);

(b) Are in grade twelve or between the ages of eighteen and twenty-one and have not graduated from high school;

(c) Apply for acceptance as an undergraduate student at an institution of higher education. A student is not a prospective eligible student if the student has received a bachelor's degree or its foreign equivalent; and

(d) Qualify for free or reduced-price lunches.

(2) Institutions of higher education may not consider the receipt of application fee waivers as part of the admissions process.

(3) Each institution of higher education must adopt an application fee waiver policy that complies with this section and post that policy on its admissions web site, effective for the fall 2019 academic term.

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