This bill creates a new "state financial aid account" in the custody of the state treasurer (a nontreasury account) and amends existing provisions governing student financial aid. The office of student financial assistance must deposit into that account all money received for specified state aid programs (including the Washington college grant, state work-study, Washington scholars, Washington award for vocational excellence, educational opportunity grant, and the passport to careers program). Moneys in the account consist of legislative appropriations and private contributions, do not lapse at fiscal close, may be spent only for appropriated purposes and subject to appropriation conditions, and only the office director or the director's designee may authorize expenditures. Disbursements from the account are exempt from appropriations and the allotment provisions of chapter 43.88 RCW, and the legislature may direct transfers from the account to the state general fund during the 2025–2027 biennium. The bill reenacts and amends RCW 28B.92.200 (the Washington college grant) and amends RCW 28B.76.525 and RCW 28B.117.020 (definitions) to implement these changes. The amendments to the Washington college grant add new eligibility pathways: beginning in 2025–26, Washington high school 10th–12th graders who are members of an assistance unit receiving benefits under the Washington basic food or Washington food assistance programs; and beginning in 2026–27, students who are eligible for the passport to careers program as provided in RCW 28B.117.030(3). The reenacted RCW 28B.92.200 also specifies eligibility and program administration details such as award start date, minimum enrollment (at least three quarter credits or equivalent, or enrollment in a registered apprenticeship), residency and application requirements, academic progress and renewal rules, time limits (not beyond six years or 150% of published program length), part-time proration, refund treatment, and institutional responsibilities. The bill also revises definitions used in chapter 28B.117 RCW, including defining "financial need" as the difference between cost of attendance and a student's total student aid index as determined by the U.S. Department of Education method, and provides definitions for terms such as apprentice, apprenticeship, cost of attendance, occupational-specific costs, homeless, foster care systems, and others. Affected entities include the office of student financial assistance, the state treasurer, the Student Achievement Council, the legislature, various state grant and scholarship programs, institutions of higher education, registered apprenticeship programs, and students meeting the described eligibility categories. Important text is missing from the extracted facts: the bill references eligibility criteria in RCW 28B.117.030(3), the methods in RCW 28B.92.205, and the certificate provisions in RCW 28B.92.225 but those subsection texts are not provided here, and other possible changes in chapter 28B.117 RCW and prior legislative history cited are not included.

The bill creates a dedicated state financial aid account to hold legislative and private money earmarked for statewide student aid programs and gives the state treasurer custody while the office of student financial assistance controls expenditures. In practice this should make funding for programs like the Washington college grant, state work-study, passport to careers scholarships, and related awards more stable from one fiscal period to the next and give the office faster, centralized authority to spend those funds for approved purposes; however the legislature retains a one-time option to direct transfers from that account to the general fund during the 2025–2027 biennium, which could reduce available aid then. Low-income students are most directly affected: starting in 2025–26, Washington high school 10th–12th graders in households receiving basic food or food assistance become eligible for the Washington college grant, and beginning in 2026–27 students eligible for the passport to careers program also qualify, likely increasing the pool of students who can get grant aid. Institutions and the office will need to apply the new enrollment, residency, progress, and time-limit rules (for example, a minimum of three credits and limits to six years or 150% of program length) when awarding or renewing grants. Important details are missing from the provided text, notably the exact passport to careers eligibility criteria and the procedures for demonstrating financial need and certifying certain categories of students.