Student Emergency Assistance Grant (SEAG) Program Information for College Staff

System Messaging

The Student Support Canvas Community is your one-stop shop for SEAG program resources and system messages. The Canvas is for CTC and SBCTC employees. 

Contact the Student Support Programs Team email to join the Canvas and get involved in conversations with your peers at other colleges. In your email, include which Student Support Programs you work with. 

Student Emergency Assistance Grant (SEAG) program information for students

 

Student Emergency Assistance Grant (SEAG) Program

The Washington State Legislature established the Student Emergency Assistance Grant (SEAG) program as a pilot through the passage of Second Substitute Senate Bill 1893 during the 2019 legislative session. During the 2021-23 biennium, the Legislature approved additional funding for the expansion of the program to additional colleges.

As codified in RCW 28B.50.295, the SEAG program allows community and technical colleges to provide monetary assistance to students experiencing unforeseen emergencies or situations that affect the student's ability to remain enrolled in their classes. Thirty community and technical colleges are participating in the program in 2025-26, and four additional institutions are completing a planning grant year to participate fully in 2026-27. Emergency assistance may be provided in the following areas under the grant:

  • Housing
  • Food
  • Technology
  • Transportation
  • Child-related
  • Health-related
  • Utilities
  • Books
  • Non-tuition fees/fines

Colleges that administer SEAG Program funding to students must ensure that students' access to emergency aid funds will be as low-barrier as possible and will not require the student to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to receive emergency funds. 

  • Bates Technical College
  • Bellevue College 
  • Bellingham Technical College
  • Centralia College
  • Clark College
  • Clover Park Technical College
  • Columbia Basin College
  • Edmonds College
  • Everett Community College
  • Grays Harbor College
  • Green River College
  • Highline College
  • Lake Washington Institute of Technology
  • Lower Columbia College
  • North Seattle College
  • Olympic College
  • Peninsula College
  • Pierce College District
  • Renton Technical College
  • Seattle Central College
  • Shoreline Community College
  • Skagit Valley College
  • South Puget Sound Community College
  • South Seattle College
  • Spokane Community College
  • Spokane Falls Community College
  • Walla Walla Community College
  • Wenatchee Valley College

  • Big Bend Community College
  • Cascadia College 
  • Whatcom Community College 
  • Yakima Valley College

SEAG Program Legislative Reporting Requirements

The college board shall submit a report to the appropriate committees of the legislature beginning December 1, 2020, and each December 1st thereafter. At a minimum, the report must: (a) Identify the community and technical colleges receiving grants and the amounts of the grants; and (b) Summarize how the community and technical colleges distributed funds to students, and provide the number of students, the amounts, and the emergency conditions for which funds were granted.

SEAG Program Legislative Reports

Contacts

Christine McMullin
Policy Associate, Student Services & K12 Alignment
cmcmullin@sbctc.edu
360-704-4347

Laura Coghlan
Program Administrator, Student Services & K12 Alignment
lcoghlan@sbctc.edu
360-704-4316