This afternoon the Washington House passed – with a vote of 84-8-  legislation that would establish an endowment for students studying in high-demand fields.

HB 2088 creates the Opportunity Scholarship Program and the Opportunity Expansion Program to mitigate the impact of tuition increases, increase the number of baccalaureate degrees in high employer demand and other programs, and invest in programs and students to meet market demand fields of study while filling middleincome jobs with a sufficient supply of skilled workers.

The House passed a single technical amendment to the bill to: (1) Provide that the Opportunity Scholarship Board’s oversight and guidance must be consistent with legislative priorities, (2) Ensure that references are consistent and refer to “eligible education programs”, (3) Clarify a reference to the state need grant in light of an earlier amendment that struck provisions that would have renamed the state need grant the opportunity award program, and (4) Make clear that all annual reports from the Opportunity Scholarship Board and the program administrator are due no later than December 1st. 

House Bill 2088 now goes to the Senate for further consideration.