This bill amends RCW 28B.50.940 to replace a prior outreach and completion pilot with a new financial aid completion and postsecondary enrollment program. The program creates postsecondary outreach and enrollment specialist positions, to be administered by the college board subject to available appropriations. The college board must select participating entities (community or technical colleges, public four‑year institutions, tribal organizations, or community‑based organizations) located in educational service districts that rank in the bottom five for FAFSA completion over the prior three academic years. A selection committee with specified higher education representatives will set criteria. Specialists must coordinate with secondary counseling programs, target schools with higher percentages of students eligible for free or reduced‑price lunch, use FAFSA, WASFA, and College Bound Scholarship eligibility data from the student achievement council, assist with FAFSA/WASFA/College Bound completion, provide private scholarship information, help students navigate college and apprenticeship applications and enrollment, and use a mix of outreach methods. The college board must work with OSPI, higher education organizations, the student achievement council, apprenticeship organizations, and K–12 stakeholder groups on roles, training, and a communication plan. The bill also adds reporting and data provisions: the college board must report annually to the legislature beginning January 15, 2026, under RCW 43.01.036 about use of funding and effects on FAFSA/WASFA completion, and the education data center (RCW 43.41.400), with partners, must produce a report on FAFSA and WASFA completion rates by high school seniors including disaggregated demographics and pre‑ and post‑implementation comparisons. A separate report on first‑time postsecondary enrollment within one year of high school graduation is required by December 1, 2027, but the extracted text does not identify who must prepare or submit that report. Important details are missing from the provided text, including the remainder of the education data center report language, specific appropriation amounts, staffing ratios or other implementation mechanics, and any enforcement or sunset provisions. This summary is based only on the extracted facts from Substitute House Bill 1136 (H-0895.1), 69th Legislature, 2025 Regular Session.

If enacted, the bill would create a college board‑administered program that places outreach and enrollment specialists in the educational service districts with the lowest FAFSA completion rates to help high school seniors complete FAFSA/WASFA and College Bound Scholarship steps, find private scholarships, navigate college or apprenticeship applications, and connect with campus services. Participating community or technical colleges, public four‑year institutions, tribal groups, or community organizations would hire or assign these specialists, coordinate closely with school counselors and districts (with a focus on higher‑poverty schools), follow state data and training plans, and participate in required communications and annual reporting on how funds were used and whether FAFSA/WASFA completion rates changed. The college board, selected institutions and organizations, OSPI, the student achievement council, and the education data center would take on added responsibilities and reporting work, and selected entities would incur staffing and coordination costs—but the program operates only if the legislature provides specific appropriations, so actual hiring and outreach could be limited or delayed by funding decisions. It’s also unclear from the provided text who must prepare the December 1, 2027 report on first‑time postsecondary enrollment and key details like appropriation amounts, staffing levels, and some implementation mechanics are not specified.