This bill amends existing law (RCW 28B.77.850 and related 2025 c 92 s 1) to expand and allow implementation of a program for postsecondary students experiencing homelessness and for students who were in foster care when they graduated high school. Implementation is permissive and is subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, so it modifies current statutory authority rather than creating a mandatory statewide program. Eligible institutions include public four‑year colleges and their university campuses under chapter 28B.45 RCW, and a public tribal college in Washington that meets specified accreditation requirements. Participating institutions may provide a range of accommodations and services such as access to laundry, storage, locker rooms and showers, reduced‑price meals or meal plans and access to food banks, access to technology, short‑term housing or housing assistance (especially during seasonal breaks), and case management. Institutions may also develop plans to use surplus property for affordable housing and must make available program‑relevant information from not‑for‑profit organizations, the local housing authority, and the Department of Commerce’s Office of Homeless Youth. Participating institutions must annually file a joint report to the appropriate legislative committees in accordance with RCW 43.01.036 beginning December 1, 2023. The report must include the number of students experiencing homelessness or food insecurity and the number of former foster care students who attended during the program (with a council coordinating voluntary data collection for this item), the number of students assisted by the program, strategies for accommodating these students, and legislative recommendations. The statute defines “program” as the students experiencing homelessness and foster youth program. The document does not identify which council will coordinate data collection, which legislative committees will receive the report, any specific appropriation amounts or sources, why the report start date is December 1, 2023 (which predates the 2026 session), or whether the reference to a tribal college is meant to include multiple tribal colleges. Additional context from other sections of the law or bill text is not provided in the extracted facts.

If funding is provided, public four‑year universities, their branch campuses, and one accredited public tribal college in Washington can set up programs offering basic supports to students who are homeless or who left foster care after high school — things like laundry, storage, showers, cheaper meals or food banks, tech access, short‑term housing or housing help during breaks, and case management. Campuses may also plan to convert surplus property into affordable housing and must make information from nonprofits, local housing authorities, and the Department of Commerce’s Office of Homeless Youth available to students. The direct effects are that institutions will have a new option to run these supports but will face new costs and administrative duties (delivering services, developing housing plans, and producing an annual joint report with counts, assistance numbers, strategies, and legislative recommendations). Students experiencing homelessness, former foster youth, and food‑insecure students are most likely to benefit where programs are funded. Important details are unclear from the text provided: the amount and source of any appropriation, which specific “council” will coordinate data collection, how many tribal colleges are intended to be eligible, and why reporting is stated to begin December 1, 2023.