Committee hears bill to extend homelessness and foster‑youth supports to Northwest Indian College

Senate Bill 5304, which would expand Washington’s Supporting Students Experiencing Homelessness (SSEH) program to include an accredited public tribal college located in Washington, was the subject of a public hearing before the Senate Higher Education & Workforce Development Committee.

Kelly Gunn, committee staff, briefed the bill and described its history: the program began as a pilot in 2019, expanded in 2021–22, and became permanent in 2023, allowing participation by all public institutions of higher education. Gunn said the bill would "expand the program to include participation from an accredited public tribal college located in Washington," and a requested fiscal note was not available in time for the hearing.

Senator Claudia Kaufman, the bill sponsor, told the committee the bill would close a gap by extending the program to Northwest Indian College (NWIC), which the sponsor described as Washington’s only accredited tribal college and serving more than 700 students. "This bill closes the gap by extending the program to Northwest Indian College, ensuring students have access to the same services that are available as their peers receive at other public institutions," Kaufman said.

The nut graf: WASAC and NWIC emphasized disparities in basic‑needs insecurity and the need for program inclusion. Joel Anderson (WASAC) told the committee that Native American and Alaska Native students report the highest rates of food and housing insecurity in the state and urged support for the bill. Representatives from Northwest Indian College described campus experience, student need, and local supports.

Joel Anderson (WASAC) said SSEH had served nearly 12,000 students at risk of homelessness or who aged out of foster care in five years and reported high persistence rates among assisted students. NWIC public information officer Natasha Brennan and student Christina Hochulok provided testimony: Brennan said NWIC serves roughly 650 students and more than 140 tribal nations and cited a 90% rate of students reporting food or housing insecurity in NWIC survey results; Christina said she had experienced homelessness before enrolling and credited NWIC student housing and pantry supports with stabilizing her and her children.

Ending: Speakers urged the committee to move the bill forward so that NWIC students can access the same housing, meal, case management and related supports as students at other public institutions; no committee vote was taken during the public hearing.