This bill creates a new state grant, changes existing higher education funding law, and makes procedural and reporting changes for workforce education oversight. It adds a new section to chapter 28B.92 RCW creating a $500 annual "bridge grant" for students who qualify for the maximum Washington college grant and who are not college bound scholarship recipients, to cover costs beyond tuition. The bill amends RCW 28B.92.205 to change income thresholds and how Washington college grant awards are prorated, and requires bridge grants to be awarded beginning in the 2025-26 academic year, applied after other gift aid, and paid in full only for at least half-time enrollment (prorated for less-than-half-time). The bill reenacts and amends RCW 43.79.195 to specify how revenues are deposited into and may be used from the workforce education investment account and to require that, beginning in fiscal year 2025, revenues from the surcharge under RCW 82.04.299 be used exclusively for higher education programs leading to credentials in advanced computing and related STEM computing fields. It requires the University of Washington to add and fund additional enrollments at the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science and Engineering when qualified Washington applicants exceed available enrollments by 100, with those additional slots funded from the surcharge. The UW must submit an annual report beginning June 30, 2026, with program graduation rates, entry waitlist, time to degree completion, and degrees awarded. The bill also amends RCW 28B.77.310 to specify the workforce education investment accountability and oversight board’s membership, terms, duties, meeting frequency (four times a year), quorum (nine voting members), reporting schedule (annual recommendations to the legislature by December 31), and staffing; it requires the student achievement council to provide an annual August 1 report on workforce education investment account expenditures and directs the workforce training and education coordinating board to maintain a data dashboard. Finally, it appropriates $6,000,000 (or as much as necessary) from the workforce education investment account—state to the University of Washington for the fiscal biennium ending June 30, 2027, to support awarding an additional 100 degrees by fiscal year 2029. Some statutory details are unclear from the provided text. The specific agency referred to as "the office" that must award bridge grants is not identified here. The precise new income thresholds and prorations in the amended RCW 28B.92.205 are difficult to interpret from the excerpt, and definitions referenced by cross-citations (for example, the statutory definition of "advanced computing" in RCW 82.04.299 and the descriptions of affected businesses and institutions in cited RCWs) are not included.

If enacted, eligible Washington college grant recipients who already qualify for the maximum grant (but are not college bound scholarship holders) would likely receive an extra $500 per year starting in 2025–26, prorated for under half‑time enrollment and paid after other gift aid. That extra stipend is intended to help pay non‑tuition costs like books, housing, and childcare, so affected students may face lower out‑of‑pocket costs and slightly better odds of staying enrolled or finishing, though the bill does not specify which agency ("the office") will actually administer the award. The bill would also redirect surcharge revenues (beginning fiscal 2025) to fund higher education programs in advanced computing and related STEM computing fields, require the University of Washington’s Paul G. Allen School to add and fund extra enrollments automatically when demand exceeds seats by 100 (with an appropriation of up to $6 million to help UW produce 100 additional degrees by 2029), and impose annual reporting and oversight duties on UW, a new accountability board, and the student achievement council. Practically, that shifts funding toward computing programs, increases UW’s enrollment and reporting responsibilities, and concentrates financial support for workforce computing credentials, but key details such as which agency awards the bridge grant, the exact changed income thresholds, and the precise legal definition of “advanced computing” are not provided in the extracted text.