This bill amends existing higher education tuition waiver provisions in RCW 28B.15.380 and RCW 28B.15.520 to expand and clarify who can be exempted from payment of tuition and services and activities fees. It directs state university, regional university, and Evergreen State College governing boards to exempt from tuition and fees children of law enforcement officers, firefighters, highway workers, or Washington State Patrol officers who died or became totally disabled in the line of duty (with enrollment required within 10 years of high school graduation), children of parents who were homicide victims who were state residents and were subject to dependency proceedings under chapter 13.34 RCW (eligible for up to six academic years), and surviving spouses of covered public safety personnel. It also requires or permits community and technical college boards to waive tuition and fees for similar groups, allows certain waivers for students 19 or older finishing high school programs, defines “totally disabled” for community and technical college purposes, and permits waivers of up to 40 percent of the nonresident tuition differential for certain students (including a capped share for a regional education program for deaf students). The bill adds reporting and procedural requirements and creates a new, time-limited study. Governing boards must report annually on the cost of waived tuition and fees to the Education Data Center or the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges, which will consolidate and report to fiscal and policy legislative committees. The Washington State Institute for Public Policy is directed to study outcomes for children who were subject to dependency proceedings after a parent’s homicide, with a preliminary report due December 1, 2031, a final report due December 1, 2035, and the study provision expiring July 1, 2036. The bill also defines “transportation agency” for RCW 28B.15.380 and references statutory definitions in chapters 41.26, 41.24, 9A.32.010, and 13.34 RCW. Important context is missing in the extract: the content of RCW 28B.15.910 (limitations), the definitions found in RCW 28B.15.012–28B.15.015 and RCW 28A.600.405 (such as “eligible students” and resident tuition rules), the definition of “highway worker,” and clarification of one provision that references exemptions “at a state-supported college or university” within the community and technical college section.

If enacted, eligible students and surviving spouses in Washington who lost a parent or spouse who was a law enforcement officer, firefighter, highway worker, or state patrol officer who died or became totally disabled in the line of duty would not have to pay tuition or services and activities fees at state universities, regional universities, The Evergreen State College, or community and technical colleges, provided certain timing rules are met (for example, many beneficiaries must begin college within 10 years of high school graduation and children of homicide victims get up to six academic years of the benefit). The change also lets community and technical colleges waive tuition and fees for some older students finishing high school programs and lets institutions waive up to 40 percent of nonresident tuition differentials for certain programs, which would reduce out-of-pocket costs for those students but will reduce tuition revenue for the colleges. Governing boards and college systems will need to implement the waivers, track and report the dollar cost of the waived tuition and fees annually to state education data and oversight bodies, and the Washington State Institute for Public Policy will study outcomes for children of homicide victims with reports due in 2031 (preliminary) and 2035 (final); the study authority expires in 2036. This will increase administrative and reporting work for universities, community colleges, the Education Data Center, and the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges, and it will create a measurable revenue impact from waived tuition that those bodies must report each year. Key details about limits in a referenced statute (RCW 28B.15.910), who counts as an “eligible student,” and the exact meaning of “highway worker” are not included here, so how some eligibility and limitation rules apply remains unclear.