The bill creates a new college promise pilot program by adding sections to chapter 28B.92 RCW that begin in the 2025-26 academic year. Under the pilot, "the council" in partnership with a registered 501(c)(3) organization that serves 10 counties in eastern Washington and is headquartered east of the Cascade crest must select at least 100 students per year to receive up to $5,000 annually for tuition and fees. Eligibility conditions specified in the text include graduation from a high school in the 10-county region, enrollment within one year in an eligible local institution, apprenticeship, or credential program, completion of the FAFSA or Washington aid application, family income at or below 150% of the state median family income, and participation in a mentoring program. The bill also requires the 501(c)(3) to run a high school promise pilot starting 2025-26 that provides two years of community college tuition for graduating students from three specified types of high schools in the most populous county east of the Cascade crest. The bill establishes a funding and administrative mechanism: a "college promise pilot program match transfer account" in the state treasury to receive private gifts/grants/donations and legislative appropriations, with state matching funds provided on an equal dollar basis subject to appropriations and availability. Expenditures from the account are restricted to the pilot and may only be authorized by the council's executive director or designee, require proof of private contributions before matching, may not exceed the private contributions, and must be supported by an agreement between the council and the program administrator. It appropriates $500,000 (or as much as necessary) for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026, and $1,000,000 (or as much as necessary) for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2027, to the student achievement council for deposit into the match account. The act requires a program report, transmitted by the council, to appropriate legislative committees by December 1, 2028, and the new sections and related funding provisions expire August 1, 2029. This is a new statutory program and funding procedure (not a criminal or penalty change). Several details are not specified in the extracted text: the bill does not name the 501(c)(3) organization or list the specific 10 counties, it does not explicitly define whether "the council" is the student achievement council although appropriations are directed to that council, the effective date referenced for the match is not given, and selection procedures, mentoring program content, income verification, and the required terms of the agreement between the council and the program administrator are not described in the provided facts.

If enacted, lowand moderate-income high school graduates from the unnamed 10-county area east of the Cascades would likely face much lower tuition bills for local postsecondary options: at least 100 students a year could receive up to $5,000 toward tuition and fees after other aid, and graduates from three selected high schools could get two years of community college tuition paid. Colleges, community colleges, and registered apprenticeship or credential programs in that region would receive those payments directly, reducing billing and collection risk from those students and likely increasing enrollments from the targeted schools and students. The program’s money comes from private donations that the state will match dollar-for-dollar only if the Legislature provides the matching appropriation and the nonprofit can document contributions; the state started with one-time appropriations of $500,000 and $1,000,000 for the first two fiscal years but ongoing support is uncertain. The Student Achievement Council and the selected 501(c)(3) would take on new administrative duties—running selection and mentoring, verifying income and other eligibility, documenting private gifts to trigger matching state dollars, and reporting outcomes by December 1, 2028—while the pilot is limited in scale, tied to available funds, and set to expire August 1, 2029. Key operational details like the identity of the nonprofit, the specific counties, and selection and verification procedures are not provided, so how smoothly the program would run is unclear.