[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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