[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2349 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2349
To establish a grant program to enable States to promote participation
in dual enrollment programs, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 15, 2014
Mr. Sanders (for himself, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Murphy, Mr. Kaine, and Mr.
Reed) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred
to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a grant program to enable States to promote participation
in dual enrollment programs, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Supporting College Success Through
Dual Enrollment Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The future strength of the democracy of the United
States, as well as the Nation's economy, depends upon ensuring
a highly educated population and a skilled workforce with the
knowledge necessary to compete in a globalized economy.
(2) The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that a
majority of the fastest-growing and highest-paying occupations
require some form of postsecondary education, be it a 2-year
degree, a 4-year degree, or an industry-recognized credential.
(3) According to research conducted by the Georgetown
University Center on Education and the Workforce, 63 percent of
all new job openings by 2018 will require at least some college
education.
(4) The cost of a college education is often the most
significant obstacle that many students face in obtaining a
college degree. Programs that help students accumulate college
credit in high school can help reduce the overall cost of a
college degree by as much as 12.5 percent, thus reducing the
financial burden on students and taxpayers. Research has found
that for every 1,000,000 students entering college with a
semester's worth of credit, overall college expenditures are
reduced by $9,500,000,000.
(5) Although more students begin college today than did 20
years ago, many are not graduating due to substantial
challenges in negotiating the transition from high school to
college. Fewer than 20 percent of students in grade 9 will
graduate with a baccalaureate degree by the age of 24.
(6) Research conducted by the Department of Education has
found that postsecondary success is predicated on both rigorous
academic preparation and a clear understanding of the
expectations in college. The academic intensity of a student's
high school courses is a better predictor of whether a student
will complete a bachelor's degree than class rank, grade point
average, or standardized admission test scores.
(7) According to research conducted at the Teachers'
College at Columbia University, participation in dual
enrollment programs is especially beneficial for students who
are traditionally underrepresented in higher education,
including low-income, first generation, and minority students.
(8) Students participating in dual enrollment programs have
better academic outcomes. Research conducted in Florida, New
York, and California found that students in dual enrollment
programs were, on average, more likely to graduate from high
school, transition into a 4-year institution of higher
education, persist in postsecondary education, and have a
higher postsecondary grade point average, as demonstrated by
the following:
(A) Participants in New York City's dual enrollment
program, College Now, were more likely than their peers
to pursue a baccalaureate degree and had higher grade
point averages than nonparticipants. Further, there was
a positive correlation between participation in dual
enrollment and completion of a baccalaureate degree.
(B) Florida's dual enrollment program participants
were 4.3 percent more likely than their peers to earn a
high school diploma and 7.7 percent more likely to
enroll in a 4-year institution of higher education, and
earned, on average, 15.1 more college credits than
nonparticipants.
(C) In Missouri, dual enrollment students had an 89
percent likelihood of returning for their second year
of college, compared to 76 percent for students who
entered college with no previous college credit.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Dual enrollment.--The term ``dual enrollment'' means a
program through which a secondary school student--
(A) takes courses offered through an institution of
higher education while the student is enrolled in
secondary school; and
(B) earns both secondary school and postsecondary
credit for the courses described in subparagraph (A).
(2) Institution of higher education.--The term
``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given the
term in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1001(a)).
(3) Moderate- to low-income student.--The term ``moderate-
to low-income student'' means a student from a family whose
income is less than 90 percent of the median income for the
State for a family of the size involved.
(4) Poverty line.--The term ``poverty line'' means the
poverty line (as defined in section 673(2) of the Community
Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2))) applicable to a
family of the size involved.
(5) Secondary school.--The term ``secondary school'' has
the meaning given the term in section 9101 of the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801 et seq.).
(6) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Education.
(7) State.--The term ``State'' means the several States of
the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth
of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin
Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
SEC. 4. GRANTS AUTHORIZED.
(a) Program Authorized.--From amounts appropriated to carry out
this Act, the Secretary shall make grants, from allotments under
subsection (b), to States to enable the States to pay the Federal share
of the costs of activities designed to promote participation in dual-
enrollment programs by moderate- to low-income students.
(b) Determination of Allotment.--
(1) Amount of allotment.--Subject to paragraph (2), the
allotment provided under this subsection to each State that
submits an approved application for a fiscal year shall be
equal to the sum of--
(A) the amount that bears the same relation to 50
percent of the amount appropriated under section 8 for
such fiscal year as the number of residents in the
State aged 5 through 17 who are living below the
poverty line bears to the total number of such
residents in all States that submitted approved
applications; and
(B) the amount that bears the same relation to 50
percent of the amount appropriated under section 8 for
such fiscal year as the number of residents in the
State aged 15 through 44 who are living below the
poverty line bears to the total number of such
residents in all States that submitted approved
applications.
(2) Minimum amount.--The allotment for each State under
this section for a fiscal year shall not be an amount that is
less than 0.5 percent of the total amount appropriated under
section 8 for such fiscal year.
(c) Federal Share.--The Federal share of the cost of the activities
funded under this Act shall not exceed 80 percent. The non-Federal
share of the cost of such activities may be provided in cash or in
kind, fairly evaluated, including services.
(d) Supplement, Not Supplant.--Funds received by a State under a
grant under this Act shall be used to supplement, and not supplant,
non-Federal funds expended for dual enrollment programs.
SEC. 5. APPLICATION AND APPROVAL.
(a) Application.--A State desiring a grant under this section shall
submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner,
and containing such information as the Secretary may require. The
application shall--
(1) describe the State's proposed program to support dual
enrollment programs, which shall include--
(A) aligning the kindergarten through grade 12,
higher education, and career and technical education
systems of the State to support dual enrollment
programs;
(B) requiring each local educational agency in the
State, or each public institution of higher education
that is partnering with a local educational agency
pursuant to paragraph (2), to provide a counselor,
advisor, or advisor working in conjunction with a
school counselor, who specializes in dual enrollment,
to provide high-quality advice to secondary school
students and their parents on the dual enrollment
program options, course selection, and other related
issues;
(C) ensuring that every public secondary school,
including every public charter school, in the State
offers a high-quality dual enrollment program, and that
all secondary school students are informed about, or
engaged in, the dual enrollment program by grade 10 or
an earlier grade;
(D) directly addressing participation in dual
enrollment programs among low-income students;
(E) developing a plan to ensure that pathways are
available, and barriers are removed, in order to allow
secondary school students participating in dual
enrollment programs to matriculate to institutions of
higher education, and attain a degree or appropriate
certification;
(F) developing a system of accountability; and
(G) addressing the problems that students and
schools in small communities face with respect to dual
enrollment programs, including the difficulties in
providing such students with the opportunity to
participate at campuses of institutions of higher
education;
(2) include an assurance that every local educational
agency in the State will form a partnership with 1 or more 2-
year or 4-year degree-granting institutions of higher education
to coordinate dual enrollment programs, under which the
institution of higher education--
(A) has the responsibility to administer the dual
enrollment program, with the cooperation of the local
educational agency; and
(B) determines the curriculum, standards, and
instructors to be used in the dual enrollment program;
(3) include an assurance that the State will align State
policy to ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, credits
earned through a dual enrollment program are recognized
throughout the system of public higher education of the State
and count as credits earned for both secondary school
graduation and graduation from a public institution of higher
education;
(4) include an assurance that the State will establish a
policy to encourage matriculation and credit agreements among
local educational agencies and institutions of higher education
to encourage low-income students to attain a baccalaureate
degree;
(5) include an assurance that the State will establish a
policy to encourage access to dual enrollment courses for as
many students as possible and to prevent student
disqualification for participation as much as possible, with
eligibility requirements that--
(A) are based on quantifiable, valid, and reliable
measures of a student's ability to succeed in a
postsecondary education course;
(B) use a consistent standard of readiness for
postsecondary education for all secondary schools and
public institutions of higher education in the State;
and
(C) are consistent with the eligibility standards
established by the partner institution of higher
education of the dual enrollment program;
(6) include an assurance that the State will establish
policies that--
(A) maximize, to the extent practicable, the number
of dual enrollment program students who take courses on
the campuses of institutions of higher education, in
classrooms with postsecondary education students, and
with professors of the institutions of higher
education;
(B) in any case where providing courses of the dual
enrollment program on a campus of an institution of
higher education is not practicable, ensure that each
course of the dual enrollment program that is taught in
secondary schools--
(i) is developed by the institution of
higher education partner;
(ii) is fully comparable with the courses
offered at the campus of the institution of
higher education;
(iii) is augmented with campus experiences
when reasonably achievable; and
(iv) is taught by an instructor from the
partner institution of higher education, where
practicable, or, if not practicable, by an
instructor who is selected, supervised, and
evaluated by the institution of higher
education; and
(C) provide that all instructors of dual enrollment
program classes are assessed by the partner institution
of higher education in the same way that such
institutions assess their own faculty;
(7) describe how the State will incorporate dual enrollment
program opportunities with programs and services provided under
subpart 2 of part A of title IV of the Higher Education Act of
1965 (1070a-21 et seq.);
(8) include an assurance that the State educational agency
and the State system of public institutions of higher education
will develop a plan to increase enrollment in postsecondary
education among moderate- or low-income students and
populations underrepresented in higher education, including
underrepresented minorities, throughout the State;
(9) describe how the State will align the State's career
and technical education policy with dual enrollment programs,
which may include--
(A) establishing flexible pathways, which are
career sequences that begin in secondary school and
continue in postsecondary education; and
(B) establishing State policies that--
(i) broaden access to career and technical
education and that provide needed supports to
students participating in career and technical
education; and
(ii) support inclusion of work-based
learning in flexible pathways, as described in
subparagraph (A);
(10) demonstrate that the State has enacted funding models
that ensure that local educational agencies and institutions of
higher education who participate in dual enrollment programs do
not lose per-pupil funding for dually enrolled students; and
(11) include an assurance that a student's participation in
a dual enrollment program shall not negatively impact the
student's eligibility for State financial assistance for
postsecondary education.
(b) Approval.--The Secretary shall approve any application for a
State program that includes the components described in subsection (a).
SEC. 6. USE OF FUNDS.
(a) In General.--
(1) In general.--A State receiving a grant under this Act
shall use grant funds to carry out any of the following
activities:
(A) Paying for tuition for moderate- to low-income
students to take postsecondary-level courses while
enrolled in secondary school through a dual enrollment
program.
(B) Textbooks, fees, and other expenses associated
with a student's attendance of a course offered through
a dual enrollment program.
(C) Counseling and support services for students
and families regarding dual enrollment programs,
including services that will improve the postsecondary
education enrollment and program completion rates of
students in dual enrollment programs or reduce the
postsecondary education costs for such students.
(D) Creation of a credit-bearing, or noncredit-
bearing, course to ensure that low-income and first
generation college students--
(i) are prepared for postsecondary
education studies to be offered through a dual
enrollment program; and
(ii) have the requisite academic and
nonacademic skills and resources necessary to
succeed, understand expectations, help navigate
the postsecondary education environment, and be
able to advocate for themselves.
(E) Options to encourage participation in dual
enrollment programs by students and schools from small
communities.
(F) Other activities that support the purposes of
this Act, as proposed and approved by the Secretary in
the application.
(2) Transportation costs.--A State receiving a grant under
this Act that has additional grant funds available after
carrying out activities described in paragraph (1), may use
such funds to pay for the costs of providing transportation for
students in rural areas to participate in dual enrollment
programs.
(b) Focus Areas.--A State receiving a grant under this Act shall
focus the activities supported under this section on dual enrollment
programs offered through secondary schools in the State that--
(1) are located in an area of high poverty;
(2) serve a large number or percentage of students from
populations underrepresented in higher education;
(3) have a high secondary school dropout rate;
(4) have a low percentage of graduates who enter
postsecondary education;
(5) are in a county or region of the State with low
postsecondary education aspiration and attainment rates; or
(6) are small schools whose academic offerings are limited
by scale.
SEC. 7. STUDENT FINANCIAL AID ELIGIBILITY.
The Secretary shall ensure that--
(1) a student's participation in a dual enrollment program
does not negatively impact the student's eligibility for
financial assistance under the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1001 et seq.); and
(2) for purposes of part C of title I, title IV, and any
other provision, of such Act--
(A) students participating in a dual enrollment
program are not classified as first-time, full-time
students of the partner institution of higher education
of the program during the student's participation; and
(B) in the case of a student who attends a dual
enrollment program and then matriculates to an
institution of higher education, the student's first
year at such institution shall be considered to be the
student's first year of a program of undergraduate
education, regardless of the number of postsecondary
credits that the student has previously earned through
the dual enrollment program.
SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act
$150,000,000 for fiscal year 2015 and each succeeding fiscal year.
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