H-2542.1
HOUSE BILL 2352
State of Washington 68th Legislature 2024 Regular Session
By Representatives Berg, Waters, Leavitt, Riccelli, Slatter, Goodman,
Ormsby, Wylie, Mena, Cortes, Taylor, Farivar, Fosse, Ramel, Street,
Reed, Morgan, Ryu, Corry, Bronoske, Nance, and Stokesbary
Read first time 01/12/24. Referred to Committee on Postsecondary
Education & Workforce.
1 AN ACT Relating to creating the college athlete protection act;
2 reenacting and amending RCW 43.79A.040, 43.79A.040, and 43.79A.040;
3 adding a new chapter to Title 28B RCW; prescribing penalties;
4 providing effective dates; and providing expiration dates.
5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
6 NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The definitions in this section apply
7 throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires
8 otherwise.
9 (1) "Affiliated medical personnel" means individuals who provide
10 medical, rehabilitation, or athletic training diagnoses, opinions, or
11 services to college athletes, in collaboration with an institution of
12 higher education. "Affiliated medical personnel" include, but are not
13 limited to, physicians, mental health professionals, physical
14 therapists, and athletic trainers. Individuals do not have to receive
15 compensation from an institution of higher education to be affiliated
16 medical personnel.
17 (2) "Aggregate athletic grants" means the total amount of
18 athletic grants that an institution of higher education annually
19 reports pursuant to the federal equity in athletics disclosure act to
20 the United States department of education for each intercollegiate
21 athletics team at the institution. "Aggregate athletic grants" does
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 1 not include any difference in athletic grant amounts based on cost of
2 attendance disparities between an institution's in-state or out-of-
3 state college athletes.
4 (3) "All revenue" includes revenue that is not allocated by sport
5 pursuant to federal equity in athletics disclosure act reporting
6 standards.
7 (4) "Athletic association" means any organization that is
8 responsible for governing intercollegiate athletic programs.
9 (5) "Athletic grant" means an athletic scholarship or grant that
10 an institution of higher education pays to a college athlete to cover
11 a portion or all of the institution's cost of attendance for a full-
12 time, in-state, on-campus undergraduate student determined pursuant
13 to the federal higher education act of 1965 (Title 20 U.S.C. Sec.
14 1087ll). An athletic grant may not exceed the institution's cost of
15 attendance.
16 (6) "Athletic program" means an intercollegiate athletic program
17 at an institution of higher education.
18 (7) "College athlete" means a student who is enrolled at an
19 institution of higher education and is listed as a member of an
20 intercollegiate athletic team at the institution. A student's
21 participation in recreational, club, or intramural sports at an
22 institution does not meet the definition of college athlete.
23 (8) "Fair market value compensation" means an amount of
24 compensation for each college athlete who receives an athletic grant
25 that is determined annually by subtracting the intercollegiate
26 athletic team's aggregate athletic grants from one-half of the
27 intercollegiate athletic team's revenue and dividing that difference
28 by the number of athletic grants provided to college athletes on that
29 team. This fair market value compensation calculation does not
30 include revenue that is not allocated by sport.
31 (9) "Fund" means the Washington college athlete protection fund
32 established in section 13 of this act.
33 (10) "Institution of higher education" means any campus of the
34 University of Washington, Washington State University, Eastern
35 Washington University, or any public four-year institution located in
36 Washington that maintains an athletic program.
37 (l1) "Institutional funds" means the amount of an institution of
38 higher education's revenue that is not derived from any
39 intercollegiate athletics source for an academic year that exceeds
40 the amount of its revenue that did not derive from any
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 1 intercollegiate athletics source reported for the 2021–22 academic
2 year.
3 (12) "Intercollegiate athlete" means a resident student, as
4 defined in RCW 28B.15.012, who is enrolled at an out-of-state college
5 or university and is listed as a member of an intercollegiate
6 athletics team at the out-of-state college or university. A student's
7 participation in recreational, club, or intramural sports at an out-
8 of-state college or university does not meet the definition of
9 intercollegiate athlete.
10 (13) "Office for civil rights" means the office for civil rights
11 within the United States department of education.
12 (14) "Panel" means the Washington college athlete protection
13 panel established in section 4 of this act.
14 (15) "Program" means the Washington college athlete protection
15 program established in section 4 of this act.
16 (16) "Revenue" means annual intercollegiate athletics revenue as
17 calculated and reported pursuant to the federal equity in athletics
18 disclosure act by an institution of higher education to the United
19 States department of education. "Revenue" includes intercollegiate
20 athletics revenue paid directly by an intercollegiate athletic
21 conference, an athletic association, or a source designated by an
22 institution of higher education, an intercollegiate athletic
23 conference, or an athletic association to cover any athletic program
24 expense or to compensate a college athlete for participating in
25 intercollegiate athletics at the institution.
26 (17) "Title IX" means Title IX of the federal education
27 amendments of 1972 (Title 20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.).
28 NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. (1) An institution of higher education
29 shall establish a degree completion fund for its college athletes who
30 receive athletic grants.
31 (2) An institution of higher education shall use degree
32 completion funds to compensate each college athlete who receives an
33 athletic grant at the institution under this chapter.
34 (3) College athletes on the same intercollegiate athletics team
35 at an institution of higher education during the same academic year
36 must be designated an equal payment from that institution's degree
37 completion fund for that academic year.
38 (4)(a) All degree completion funds, up to a maximum of $25,000,
39 must be paid to each college athlete for the college athlete's
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 1 participation on the intercollegiate athletics team in an academic
2 year.
3 (b) Commencing on or before July 1, 2025, and every year
4 thereafter, payments described in (a) of this subsection must be made
5 in an amount based on the institution's revenue reported for the
6 previous academic year.
7 (5) An institution of higher education may not use payment
8 designations in its degree completion fund as a reason to reduce or
9 cancel athletic grants provided to any college athlete.
10 (6)(a) All degree completion fund payments determined in
11 subsection (4)(a) of this section must be paid to the college athlete
12 within 60 days of the college athlete earning a baccalaureate degree
13 or submitting proof, as determined by the panel, of having a severe
14 medical condition that prevents the college athlete from completing a
15 baccalaureate degree program.
16 (b) All degree completion fund payments designated for a college
17 athlete who transferred to another institution of higher education or
18 an out-of-state college or university must be paid to the college
19 athlete within 60 days of the college athlete earning a baccalaureate
20 degree or submitting proof, as determined by the panel, of having a
21 severe medical condition that prevents the athlete from completing a
22 baccalaureate degree program.
23 (7)(a) An institution of higher education shall accurately
24 account its aggregate athletic grants and revenue. An institution may
25 not undercount, overcount, or fail to accurately categorize its
26 aggregate athletic grants or revenue.
27 (b) The panel may audit an institution of higher education's
28 aggregate athletic grant and revenue accounting methods, materials,
29 and information to ensure compliance with this section. This audit
30 may include review of the institution's aggregate athletic grant and
31 revenue accounting methods reported by the institution in its
32 previous revenue reports. This subsection may only be implemented in
33 a manner that protects the personally identifiable information of
34 college athletes consistent with state and federal privacy laws.
35 (8) All degree completion fund payments determined in subsection
36 (4)(a) of this section designated for a college athlete must be
37 forfeited if the college athlete does not complete a baccalaureate
38 degree program within six years of college enrollment or submit
39 proof, as determined by the panel, of having a severe medical
40 condition that prevents the college athlete from completing a
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 1 baccalaureate degree program. All forfeited funds must be deposited
2 in the institution's degree completion fund and used for degree
3 completion fund payments to college athletes pursuant to this
4 section.
5 (9)(a) In making annual degree completion fund payment
6 designations under this section, an institution of higher education
7 shall use all revenue reported for an academic year that exceeds all
8 revenue reported for the 2023 academic year. The institution does not
9 have to pay any remaining fair market value compensation owed to a
10 college athlete into the degree completion fund if all the conditions
11 in this subsection and subsection (11) of this section are satisfied.
12 (i) Except as provided in (a)(vi) of this subsection the
13 institution shall use the difference in revenue calculated under this
14 subsection (9)(a), in its entirety, to make degree completion fund
15 payment designations.
16 (ii) The institution shall make, in aggregate, for an academic
17 year, one-half of the total amount of degree completion fund payment
18 designations for its female college athletes, and one-half of the
19 total amount of degree completion fund payment designations for its
20 male college athletes.
21 (iii) From the portion of the total amount allocated for female
22 college athletes pursuant to (a)(ii) of this subsection, the
23 institution shall make degree completion fund payment designations
24 for female college athletes on each women's intercollegiate athletics
25 team who have not received fair market value compensation for the
26 academic year. In making the degree completion fund payment
27 designations, the institution shall:
28 (A) Determine the percentage of the total fair market value
29 compensation owed to female college athletes on each women's
30 intercollegiate athletics team at the institution that represents the
31 total fair market compensation owed to all female college athletes at
32 the institution, regardless of sport;
33 (B) Ensure that female college athletes on the same women's
34 intercollegiate athletics team, regardless of sport, collectively
35 receive the percentage determined under (a)(iii)(A) of this
36 subsection of the total amount designated for female college athletes
37 under (a)(ii) of this subsection; and
38 (C) Pay each of its female college athletes who receive an
39 athletic grant an equal amount of the portion for female college
40 athletes pursuant to (a)(ii) of this subsection if the portion of the
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 1 total amount allocated for female college athletes pursuant to
2 (a)(ii) of this subsection exceeds the total aggregate fair market
3 value compensation owed to all female college athletes on women's
4 intercollegiate athletics teams at the institution, regardless of
5 sport.
6 (iv) From the portion of the total amount allocated for male
7 college athletes pursuant to subsection (a)(ii) of this subsection,
8 the institution shall make degree completion fund payment
9 designations for male college athletes on each men's intercollegiate
10 athletics team who have not received fair market compensation. In
11 making the degree completion fund payment designations, the
12 institution shall:
13 (A) Determine the percentage of the total fair market
14 compensation owed to male college athletes on each men's
15 intercollegiate athletics team at the institution that represents the
16 total fair market compensation owed to all male college athletes at
17 the institution, regardless of sport;
18 (B) Ensure that male college athletes on the same men's
19 intercollegiate athletics team, regardless of sport, collectively
20 receive the percentage determined pursuant to (a)(iv)(A) of this
21 subsection of the total amount designated for male college athletes
22 pursuant to (a)(ii) of this subsection; and
23 (C) Pay each of its male college athletes who receive an athletic
24 grant an equal amount of the portion for male college athletes
25 pursuant to (a)(ii) of this subsection if the portion of the total
26 amount allocated for male college athletes pursuant to (a)(ii) of
27 this subsection exceeds the total aggregate fair market value
28 compensation owed to all male college athletes on men's
29 intercollegiate athletics teams at the institution, regardless of
30 sport.
31 (v) Except to comply with (a)(iii) and (iv) of this subsection
32 and subsection (11) of this section, degree completion fund payment
33 designations may not result in any college athlete being designated
34 more than fair market value compensation for any academic year.
35 (vi) Notwithstanding (a)(i) of this subsection, an institution of
36 higher education that gives fair market compensation to all of its
37 male and female college athletes and complies with this section may
38 use any remaining revenue for other purposes as determined by the
39 institution.
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 1 (vii) An institution may spend institutional funds on
2 intercollegiate athletic expenses without the funds counting as
3 revenue if, within the academic year, the institutional funds are
4 exhausted or the institutional funds are unused and do not remain in
5 an athletic team's or athletic program's budget. This subsection
6 authorizes an institution to increase athletics spending for athletic
7 program needs without including it in revenue directed to degree
8 completion funds pursuant to this section.
9 (viii) The amount of funds that an institution paid for any
10 athletic team's expenses for the 2023 academic year must be included
11 as revenue for that academic year, even if the institution did not
12 count the funds as revenue for that academic year.
13 (ix) Notwithstanding (a)(viii) of this subsection, the amount of
14 funds that an institution paid for any athletic team's nonregular
15 capital expenses for the 2023 academic year may not be included as
16 revenue for that academic year, even if the institution counted the
17 funds as revenue for that academic year.
18 (b) An institution may opt to pay program fees pursuant to this
19 chapter before using revenue described in (a) of this subsection for
20 degree completion fund payment designations for college athletes.
21 (10) Degree completion funds are the property of college athletes
22 and not the property of institutions of higher education.
23 Institutions of higher education shall have a fiduciary duty to their
24 college athletes to manage these funds.
25 (11) Notwithstanding any other subsection of this section, if an
26 institution of higher education deems it necessary, the institution
27 shall adjust the amounts of degree completion fund payment
28 designations to comply with Title IX financial aid proportionality
29 comparisons in athletics. For any adjustment made pursuant to this
30 subsection, the institution shall comply with the following
31 requirements:
32 (a) The aggregate total amount of degree completion fund payment
33 designations made to the institution's college athletes may not be
34 reduced;
35 (b) The institution shall comply with Title IX financial aid
36 proportionality comparisons in athletics independent of degree
37 completion fund payment designations; and
38 (c) On or before January 1, 2025, and every year thereafter, the
39 institution shall publish on its website and submit to the panel a
40 written explanation of why an adjustment made pursuant to this
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 1 subsection is necessary to comply with Title IX proportionality
2 comparisons in athletics, and include both of the following in this
3 written explanation:
4 (i) Published communications, determinations, and rulings by the
5 office for civil rights used as the basis for the adjustment, as
6