Bill addressing student financial aid fraud heard in Senate higher education committee

Jan. 19 — A bill aimed at safeguarding student financial aid fraud was up for a hearing during Monday’s Senate Higher Education and Workforce Development Committee meeting. If passed, SB 6082 would direct the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee (JLARC) to conduct a systemic performance audit of fraud in financial aid at higher education institutions.

“6082 is about really stopping fraud, making us accountable in our system, and running an audit so we can find the numbers where people are actually utilizing these things,” Sen. Matt Boehnke, the bill’s prime sponsor, said.

Arlen Harris, Legislative Director at the State Board, testified, speaking to the safeguards already in place at community and technical colleges. “Colleges already must follow strict rules for reporting any suspected fraud,” he said.

Chemene Crawford, President of Everett Community College, also testified on the bill.

“State financial aid programs are included in the work being done in collaboration with the United States Department of Education by colleges to combat financial aid fraud,” she said. “This bill risks creating a redundant bureaucratic layer of evaluation that could divert focus using already finite resources.”

Sara Thompson Tweedy, President of Big Bend Community College, also testified on the bill, highlighting existing challenges and strain on financial aid staff.

“We believe that 40% of applicants to Big Bend Community College are fraudulent,” she said. “We have had to deal with this issue with no additional staff, and we have created a process whereby we work to confirm every applicant’s identity.”

The bill was voted out of committee on January 22 and now heads to the Senate Ways & Means Committee.

Senate early learning & K-12 committee hears bill to address coordination across all levels of education

SB 6089, which includes the creation of a P20W public-private partnership account in the treasury as well as an advisory group comprised of representatives across early learning to career pathways, was up for a hearing during Thursday’s Senate Early and K-12 Committee meeting. If passed, SB 6089 would, among other tasks, direct the advisory group to define strategies for the state's P20W education vision and to facilitate increased coordination and alignment between the state and the philanthropic community to support its implementation.

“This sort of group would review existing plans, identify gaps, and make evidence-based recommendations to strengthen alignment across sectors,” Sen. Vandana Slatter, the bill’s prime sponsor, said.

Nate Humphrey, Executive Director of the State Board, testified on the bill during the public hearing.

“I want to applaud the bill’s creation of a public-private partnership account,” he said. “To be successful, though, it will be critical that we unite those stakeholders, that we leverage our existing investments in the state, we minimize our duplications, protect our learner data, and chart a very clear path forward.”

Coming up next week

Next week, policy committees will have their last full week to hold public hearings and take executive action on bills before the February 4 policy cutoff deadline.