AN ACT Relating to requiring postsecondary institutions to plan for the needs of certain students experiencing homelessness; adding a new section to chapter 28B.50 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 28B.10 RCW; and creating a new section.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that a postsecondary credential is essential to Washingtonians' ability to attain jobs with good salaries and advancement opportunities. The legislature also finds that recent research links experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity with poorer postsecondary academic achievement and credential attainment, and that experiencing homelessness while a postsecondary student, after accounting for other background factors, is associated with an eight to ten percent reduction in the probability of later credential attainment or enrollment. The legislature finds that efforts to promote credential attainment should be expanded to consider students' living conditions and to alleviate the burden that experiencing homelessness imposes on postsecondary students.

(1) To plan for the unique needs and challenges of students experiencing homelessness, each college district must develop a capital project plan by July 1, 2021, to renovate or rehabilitate an existing building or facility within the district to provide, but not be limited to, the following accommodations: Laundry facilities, storage units, showers, and lockers. Any such renovation and rehabilitation project listed in the capital project plan must be completed by July 1, 2023. If the college district implements a culinary program, it is encouraged to provide free or reduced-price meals to reduce food insecurity.

(2) To address student homelessness and increase housing options, each college district must also attempt to engage with the local housing authority to provide tenant-based rental assistance programs, including such programs to assist students who were recently released from a state correctional facility or local jail.

(3) For purposes of this section, "homelessness" means without a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence as set forth in the federal McKinney-Vento homeless assistance act, P.L. 100–77, July 22, 1987, 101 Stat. 482, and runaway and homeless youth act, P.L. 93–415, Title III, September 7, 1974, 88 Stat. 1129.

(1) To plan for the unique needs and challenges of students experiencing homelessness, each four-year institution of higher education, as part of its submission to the office of financial management and the legislative fiscal committees of the legislature under RCW 43.88D.010(7), must develop a capital project plan by July 1, 2021, to renovate or rehabilitate an existing campus building or facility to provide, but not be limited to, the following accommodations: Laundry facilities, storage units, showers, and lockers. Any such renovation and rehabilitation project listed in the capital project plan must be completed by July 1, 2023. If the four-year institution of higher education implements a culinary program, it is encouraged to provide free or reduced-price meals to reduce food insecurity.

(2) To address student homelessness and increase housing options, each four-year institution of higher education must also attempt to engage with the local housing authority to provide tenant-based rental assistance programs, including such programs to assist students who were recently released from a state correctional facility or local jail.