(1) The office shall design and, to the extent funds are appropriated for this purpose, implement, passport to careers with two programmatic pathways: The passport to college promise program and the passport to apprenticeship opportunities program. Both programs offer supplemental scholarship and student assistance for students who were under the care of the state foster care system, tribal foster care system, or federal foster care system, and verified unaccompanied youth or young adults who have experienced homelessness.
(2) The office shall convene and consult with an advisory committee to assist with program design and implementation. The committee shall include but not be limited to former foster care and unaccompanied homeless youth and their advocates; representatives from the state board for community and technical colleges, public and private agencies that assist current and former foster care recipients and unaccompanied youth or young adults experiencing homelessness in their transition to adulthood; student support specialists from public and private colleges and universities; the state workforce training and education coordinating board; the employment security department; and the state apprenticeship council.
(3) To the extent that sufficient funds have been appropriated for this purpose, a student is eligible for assistance under this section if he or she:
(a)(i) Was in the care of the state foster care system, tribal foster care system, or federal foster care system in Washington state at any time before age twenty-one subsequent to the following:
(A) Age fifteen as of July 1, 2018;
(B) Age fourteen as of July 1, 2019; and
(C) Age thirteen as of July 1, 2020; or
(ii) Beginning July 1, 2019, was verified on or after July 1st of the prior academic year as an unaccompanied youth experiencing homelessness, before age twenty-one;
(b) Is a resident student, as defined in RCW
28B.15.012(2), or if unable to establish residency because of homelessness or placement in out-of-state foster care under the interstate compact for the placement of children, has residency determined through verification by the office;
(c) Is enrolled with or will enroll on at least a half-time basis with an institution of higher education or a registered apprenticeship or recognized preapprenticeship in Washington state by the age of twenty-one;
(d) Is making satisfactory academic progress toward the completion of a degree, certificate program, or registered apprenticeship or recognized preapprenticeship, if receiving supplemental scholarship assistance;
(e) Has not earned a bachelor's or professional degree; and
(f) Is not pursuing a degree in theology.
(4) The office shall define a process for verifying unaccompanied homeless status for determining eligibility under subsection (3)(a)(ii) of this section. The office may use a letter from the following persons or entities to provide verification: A high school or school district McKinney-Vento liaison; the director or designated staff member of an emergency shelter, transitional housing program, or homeless youth drop-in center; or other similar professional case manager or school employee. Students who have no formal connection with such a professional may also submit to the office an essay that describes their experience with homelessness and the barriers it created to their academic progress. The office may consider this essay in lieu of a letter of homelessness determination and may interview the student if further information is needed to verify eligibility.
(5) A passport to college promise program is created.
(a) A passport to college promise scholarship under this section:
(i) Shall not exceed resident undergraduate tuition and fees at the highest-priced public institution of higher education in the state; and
(ii) Shall not exceed the student's financial need, when combined with all other public and private grant, scholarship, and waiver assistance the student receives.
(b) Passport to college promise scholarship eligibility may not extend beyond six years or 150 percent of the published length of the program in which the student is enrolled or the credit or clock-hour equivalent.
(c) The office, in consultation with and with assistance from the state board for community and technical colleges, shall perform an annual analysis to verify that those institutions of higher education at which students have received a scholarship under this section have awarded the student all available need-based and merit-based grant and scholarship aid for which the student qualifies.
(d) In designing and implementing the passport to college promise student support program under this section, the office, in consultation with and with assistance from the state board for community and technical colleges, shall ensure that a participating college or university:
(i) Has a viable plan for identifying students eligible for assistance under this section, for tracking and enhancing their academic progress, for addressing their unique needs for assistance during school vacations and academic interims, and for linking them to appropriate sources of assistance in their transition to adulthood;
(ii) Receives financial and other incentives for achieving measurable progress in the recruitment, retention, and graduation of eligible students.
(e) To the extent funds are appropriated for this specific purpose, the office shall contract with at least one nongovernmental entity to provide services to support effective program implementation, resulting in increased postsecondary completion rates for passport scholars.
(6) The passport to apprenticeship opportunities program is created. The office shall:
(a) Identify students and applicants who are eligible for services under RCW
28B.117.030 [this section] through coordination of certain agencies as detailed in RCW
28B.117.040;
(b) Provide financial assistance through the nongovernmental entity or entities in RCW
28B.117.055 for registered apprenticeship and recognized preapprenticeship entrance requirements and occupational-specific costs that does not exceed the individual's financial need; and
(c) Extend financial assistance to any eligible applicant for six years or 150 percent of the published length of the program in which the student is enrolled or the credit or clock-hour equivalent.
(7) Recipients may utilize passport to college promise or passport to apprenticeship opportunities at different times, but not concurrently. The total award an individual may receive in any combination of the programs shall not exceed the equivalent amount that would have been awarded for the individual to attend a public university for six years with the highest annual tuition and state-mandated fees in the state.
(8) Personally identifiable information shared pursuant to this section retains its confidentiality and may not be further disclosed except as allowed under state and federal law.