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Bill would add Northwest Indian College to student homelessness program; agency endorses inclusion and estimates grant cost
Summary
House Bill 1540 would add Northwest Indian College to the state student‑experiencing‑homelessness program; the Student Achievement Council and staff said the addition is estimated at about $102,000 per fiscal year and would enable NWIC to serve local students facing housing insecurity.
Committee staff briefed House Bill 1540, which would add an accredited tribal college located in Bellingham, Northwest Indian College (NWIC), to the Washington Student Achievement Council’s Student Supporting Students Experiencing Homelessness (SSCH) program.
Kate Henry, committee staff, said the Student Supporting Students Experiencing Homelessness program (SSCH) provides limited grants to colleges for basic needs supports to students at risk of homelessness or students who aged out of foster care. The Washington Student Achievement Council’s fiscal estimate indicated a $102,000 per fiscal year grant estimate for the tribal college and minimal additional administrative costs. The governor’s proposed 2025‑27 budget included the $102,000 per fiscal year estimate.
Joel Anderson of the Washington Student Achievement Council testified in support and said SSCH has provided nearly 12,000 students with basic needs support since inception and that participating students show high term completion rates (94% at public baccalaureates and 86% at community and technical colleges in the term when they received support). Anderson said Native American and Alaska Native students report the highest rates of food and housing insecurity and adding NWIC would enable support for local students matriculating from their home tribal schools.
No formal committee action was recorded in the transcript; the public hearing concluded after testimony in favor.
