ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5702

BySenate Higher Education & Workforce Development (originally sponsored by Senators Trudeau, Nobles, Dhingra, Hunt, Liias, Lovelett, Nguyen, Pedersen, Saldaña, Valdez, and C. Wilson)

AN ACT Relating to expanding the students experiencing homelessness and foster youth pilot program; and amending RCW 28B.50.916 and 28B.77.850.

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

Sec. 1. RCW 28B.50.916 and 2021 c 62 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, ((the college board shall select eight college districts, with no less than four located outside of the Puget Sound region to participate in a pilot))each community and technical college may implement a program to provide assistance to students experiencing homelessness and to students who were in the foster care system when they graduated high school. The ((college districts chosen to participate in the pilot program))community and technical colleges participating in the program must provide certain accommodations to these students that may include, but are not limited to, the following:

(a) Access to laundry facilities;

(b) Access to storage;

(c) Access to locker room and shower facilities;

(d) Reduced-price meals or meal plans, and access to food banks;

(e) Access to technology;

(f) Access to short-term housing or housing assistance, especially during seasonal breaks; and

(g) Case management services.

(2) The ((college districts))community and technical colleges may also establish plans to develop surplus property for affordable housing to accommodate the needs of students experiencing homelessness and students who were in the foster care system when they graduated high school.

(3) The ((college districts))community and technical colleges participating in the ((pilot)) program shall leverage existing community resources by making available to students in the ((pilot)) program information that is available for individuals experiencing homelessness, including through not-for-profit organizations, the local housing authority, and the department of commerce's office of homeless youth.

(4) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, the college board shall administer a grant program to provide grants to establish partnerships between community and technical colleges and public housing authorities or nonprofit community organizations to design and administer a subsidized housing or housing voucher program for Washington college grant eligible students. For the initial round of grants, priority must be given to colleges and public housing authorities or nonprofit community organizations that have previous experience partnering to administer a housing voucher or subsidized housing program.

(5) The ((college districts participating in the pilot program))community and technical colleges participating in the program shall annually provide a joint report to the appropriate committees of the legislature ((by))in accordance with RCW 43.01.036 beginning December 1, 2023, that includes at least the following information:

(a) The number of students experiencing homelessness or food insecurity, and the number of students who were in the foster care system when they graduated high school who ((were attending))attended a community or technical college during the ((pilot)) program. The college board shall coordinate with all of the community and technical colleges to collect voluntary data on how many students experiencing homelessness or food insecurity are attending the community and technical colleges;

(b) The number of students assisted by the ((pilot)) program;

(c) If participating in the grant program under subsection (4) of this section:

(d) Strategies for accommodating students experiencing homelessness or food insecurity, and former foster care students; and

(((d)))(e) Legislative recommendations for how students experiencing homelessness or food insecurity, and former foster care students could be better served.

(((5) The college districts not selected to participate in the pilot program are:

(7) This section expires January 1, 2025))(6) For purposes of this section, "program" means the students experiencing homelessness and foster youth program.

Sec. 2. RCW 28B.77.850 and 2021 c 62 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, ((the council shall select four public four-year institutions of higher education, two on each side of the crest of the Cascade mountain range, to participate in a pilot))each public four-year institution of higher education and the tribal college may implement a program to provide assistance to students experiencing homelessness and to students who were in the foster care system when they graduated high school. The ((four-year institutions of higher education chosen to participate in the pilot)) program must provide certain accommodations to these students that may include, but are not limited to, the following:

(a) Access to laundry facilities;

(b) Access to storage;

(c) Access to locker room and shower facilities;

(d) Reduced-price meals or meal plans, and access to food banks;

(e) Access to technology;

(f) Access to short-term housing or housing assistance, especially during seasonal breaks; and

(g) Case management services.

(2) The four-year institutions of higher education and the tribal college may also establish plans to develop surplus property for affordable housing to accommodate the needs of students experiencing homelessness and students who were in the foster care system when they graduated high school.

(3) The four-year institutions of higher education and the tribal college participating in the ((pilot)) program shall leverage existing community resources by making available to students in the ((pilot)) program information that is available for individuals experiencing homelessness, including through not-for-profit organizations, the local housing authority, and the department of commerce's office of homeless youth.

(4) The four-year institutions of higher education and the tribal college participating in the ((pilot)) program shall annually provide a joint report to the appropriate committees of the legislature ((by))in accordance with RCW 43.01.036 beginning December 1, 2023, that includes at least the following information:

(a) The number of students experiencing homelessness or food insecurity, and the number of students who were in the foster care system when they graduated high school who ((were attending))attended a four-year institution of higher education or the tribal college during the ((pilot)) program. The council shall coordinate with all of the four-year institutions of higher education and the tribal college to collect voluntary data on how many students experiencing homelessness or food insecurity are attending the four-year institutions of higher education and the tribal college;

(b) The number of students assisted by the ((pilot)) program;

(c) Strategies for accommodating students experiencing homelessness or food insecurity, and former foster care students; and

(d) Legislative recommendations for how students experiencing homelessness or food insecurity, and former foster care students could be better served.

(5) ((The four-year institutions of higher education not selected to participate in the pilot program are:

(7) This section expires January 1, 2025))For purposes of this section, "program" means the students experiencing homelessness and foster youth program.

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