Session marks first cutoff, fiscal committees ramp up work

February 21, 2025 | By SBCTC Communications

Today marks the first major milestone of the 2025 session. It's policy committee cutoff, which means bills need to be voted out of policy committees — like House Postsecondary Education and Workforce and Senate Higher Education and Workforce Development — to continue in the legislative process. ...

What my internship is teaching me about growth, challenges, and myself

February 21, 2025 | By Isabella Flores

As a Running Start student interning at the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges, I’ve had an incredibly busy but rewarding semester. Between wrapping up my midterms, registering for classes, and finalizing my university applications, it feels like I’m always active. However, having t...

Finding balance

February 14, 2025 | By Khanh Pham

This week has been a whirlwind of deadlines, learning, and growth. As a second-year student at South Puget Sound Community College (SPSCC), I’m navigating midterms, major class projects, and the daunting task of applying to transfer to a four-year university. My current top priority is the Univer...

College system-requested bills moving ahead of next week's cutoff

February 14, 2025 | By SBCTC Communications

House and Senate policy committees continued with hearings this week and ramped up voting on bills ahead of next week's policy committee cutoff deadline. For the community and technical college system, higher education committees heard bills on creating an online college, adding a student member ...

Learning the ropes through real-world advocacy

February 7, 2025 | By Isabella Flores

Last week, I had the incredible opportunity to testify in support of SB 5007, a bill aimed at addressing chronic absenteeism in schools. Chronic absenteeism is an important issue that affects students for many reasons including transportation challenges, housing instability, family responsibiliti...

State Board-requested bills on College Bound Scholarship, high school completion tuition waivers heard in committee

February 7, 2025 | By SBCTC Communications

Hearings continued into their fourth week, with House and Senate higher education committees hearing State Board-requested bills on expanding eligibility for the College Bound Scholarship and waiving tuition for students in high school completion courses. In the Senate, members of the Senate High...

Senators hear Washington College Grant expansion bill, learn about financial aid support program

January 31, 2025 | By SBCTC Communications

Community and technical colleges were well represented in Olympia this week, sharing the success of the system's financial aid outreach pilot program and supporting bills that would expand Washington College Grant eligibility and helping high school students who are chronically absent. Presidents...

My first testimony

January 31, 2025 | By Khanh Pham

When I first learned the first week of session I would be testifying for SB 5115, I didn't know what to expect. That’s the bill that would provide eligible students with grants to help with college tuition and fees as they complete community or volunteer service. As a legislative intern, I knew t...