The College Bound scholarships paid for by the state Legislature should be a dream come true.

After all, up to 56,000 seventh- or eighth-grade students who sign up by June 1 will be eligible to receive free college tuition and $500 for college books when they are ready for higher education.

But Rep. Deb Wallace, D-Vancouver, was concerned to find out that just 4,000 students have signed up so far.

“People’s lives are so busy, particularly when you’re working a job or two, and it’s really difficult to get information out to people,” Wallace said. “I also think that so much of our media comes from Oregon, so information about programs like this don’t get out as they do in the Seattle area.”

It doesn’t help, either, she said, that 23 percent of families don’t have the Internet in their homes.

So Wallace has set out to spread that information herself and started by e-mailing other legislators.

Students must meet certain criteria to qualify for the scholarship: They must pledge to maintain a 2.0 grade point average in high school, qualify for free or reduced lunch, and not commit a felony.

The June 1 deadline is firm for eighth-graders, Wallace said.

The state Legislature earmarked $14.8 million over two years for the scholarship. The program will be managed by the private-public College Success Foundation.

Natalia Dotto of Pyramid Communications in Seattle said the foundation will launch an effort this May to make it easier for low-income students to pay for college.