House Bill 3383 would create the Great Expectations Pilot Program within West Virginia’s community and technical college system to support students who have experienced foster care. The bill’s findings state that young people aging out of foster care face significant barriers to college access and persistence, and that existing tuition assistance programs do not provide the intensive advising and life-navigation support this population needs. To address that gap, the bill authorizes a pilot at one selected institution, chosen by the Chancellor of the West Virginia Community and Technical College System based on the institution’s standing.
Under the program, each participating foster youth would be paired with a full-time adult coach. The coach would help the student assess skills and interests, plan for college enrollment, complete applications, arrange transportation, identify career and education options, and connect to financial aid and scholarships. The bill also allows tuition grants for eligible students who were in foster care, social services custody, or a special needs adoption when they earned a high school diploma or GED, and it expressly allows those grants to be used for non-credit workforce programs as well as tuition and fees at the pilot institution.
Impact
The bill would add a new article to Chapter 18B of the West Virginia Code and create a new special revenue account for the Great Expectations Pilot Program. It would dedicate $95,000 per year from general revenue for three years to fund a full-time coach, recruitment, onboarding, and related support services. The program would begin September 1, 2025, run for three years, and then be evaluated by the West Virginia Community and Technical College System and the Higher Education Policy Commission for possible expansion to other colleges, with a report due to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability in July 2029. The bill would directly affect foster youth, community and technical colleges, and the state higher education system by creating a targeted support and tuition-assistance structure for this student population.
Sentiment
The overall sentiment reflected in the bill text is strongly supportive of expanding educational opportunity for foster youth. The findings emphasize the vulnerability of students aging out of foster care and frame the pilot as a practical response to unmet advising and support needs. No committee transcript or vote record was provided, so there is no additional evidence of opposition or amendment debate in the available materials.
Contention
The main policy questions raised by the bill are likely to be whether a single-campus pilot is the best way to address statewide needs, whether the proposed $95,000 annual appropriation is sufficient, and how eligibility for tuition grants should be defined and administered. Another possible point of discussion is the bill’s focus on foster youth and special needs adoption recipients, which creates a targeted benefit for a specific group rather than a broader student-aid program. Because no committee discussion or vote history is included, no named opponents or supporters beyond the bill’s sponsors can be identified from the record provided.
Supplementing and amending appropriations to the Higher Education Policy Commission, Higher Education Policy Commission – Administration – Control Account
Making a supplementary appropriation to the Department of Human Services, Bureau for Medical Services – Policy and Programming and State Board of Education – State Department of Education