Assigned to ED AS PASSED BY COMMITTEE
ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Fifth Legislature, Second Regular Session
AMENDED
FACT SHEET FOR H.B. 2034
CTEDs; associate degrees
Purpose
Authorizes a career technical education district (CTED) to offer regionally-accredited or
nationally-accredited associate degrees for CTED programs on the in-demand regional education
list. Outlines associate degree program proposal requirements, approval procedures and reporting
requirements.
Background
CTEDs are formed by school districts to deliver to students in grades 9 through 12 career
technical education (CTE) programs that: 1) have a defined pathway to career and postsecondary
education in a specific vocation or industry; 2) fill a high-need vocational or industry need; 3) lead
to vocational or industry certification, licensure or career readiness and entry-level employment
skills that allow a student to obtain work before receiving an associate or baccalaureate degree;
4) require a majority of instructional time to be in a laboratory, field-based or work-based learning
environment; 5) require specialized equipment and materials that exceed the cost of a standard
education course; and 6) for which an industry or vocation has agreed to provide financial or
technical support. An elected CTED board manages and controls a CTED, including the content
and quality of courses, quality of teachers, teacher salaries, and reimbursement of other entities for
facilities the CTED uses (A.R.S. §§ 15-391 and 15-393).
The Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) must annually compile an in-demand regional
education list of approved CTE programs that lead to a career path in high-demand with
median-to-high-wage jobs in that region. The OEO must collaborate with the Arizona Department
of Education and incorporate industry feedback in developing the list (A.R.S. § 15-393; ADE).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this
legislation.
Provisions
1. Authorizes a CTED to offer associate degrees that are:
a) accredited by a regional or national accreditation agency approved by the U.S. Department
of Education; and
b) for CTED programs that are on the OEO in-demand regional education list.
2. Requires each CTED that offers an associate degree program to provide the student, at the time
of enrollment in a program, with a list of institutions to which the associate degree is
transferable. FACT SHEET – Amended
H.B. 2034
Page 2
3. Requires a CTED that offers an associate degree program to meet:
a) all applicable regional or national accreditation requirements; and
b) all applicable state licensure requirements.
4. Directs any CTED seeking to offer an associate degree program to, beginning on the general
effective date, apply for accreditation from a regional or national accreditation agency.
5. Directs a CTED board to determine whether to offer an associate degree program based on:
a) whether the CTED is able to demonstrate industry demand for the associate degree
program;
b) a financial analysis that shows the short-term and long-term impacts to initiate and sustain
the associate degree program including the source of monies, facilities requirements,
faculty, personnel and administrative costs;
c) whether the associate degree program would unnecessarily duplicate the degree programs
offered by other institutions of higher education in Arizona; and
d) the ability of the CTED to support the associate degree program with and the adequacy of
the facilities, faculty, administration, libraries and other resources.
6. Directs a CTED located in the same county as the main campus of a public university or
community college that is developing an associate degree program to notify the university or
community college at least 60 days before submitting the prescribed proposed program report
to the CTED board.
7. Allows the public university or community college, within 30 days after the CTED submits
the notice, to provide a written response to the CTED for its review.
8. Directs a CTED, before the CTED board authorizes an associate degree program, to submit a
report to the CTED board that includes:
a) the proposed academic degree program name and proposed inception term;
b) the academic department that will offer the proposed program;
c) whether the instructional modality would be immersion, online or both;
d) the total credit hours necessary to complete the proposed program;
e) a brief description of the proposed program;
f) a learning outcomes and assessment plan that includes concepts, competencies, assessment
methods and measures;
g) the projected enrollment by year for the first three years the program is offered;
h) evidence of market demand for the proposed program;
i) similar degree programs offered at other higher education institutions in Arizona;
j) the new resources required, including a long-term faculty recruitment plan indicating the
ability to pay faculty salaries and identify recruitment strategies;
k) any public university's or community college's written responses to the CTED's notice of
program development; and
l) proof of transferability of credits earned in the proposed program to another accredited
institution for each program offered.
9. Specifies that the notice and response do not allow a public university or community college
to prevent a CTED from offering an associate degree program. FACT SHEET – Amended
H.B. 2034
Page 3
10. Requires each CTED that offers an associate degree program to submit, by October 1 of the
fifth year after initially offering the program, a report to the Joint Legislative Audit Committee
(JLAC) that reviews the first five years of the program.
11. Prescribes the following information for inclusion in the report to JLAC:
a) the number of associate degree programs implemented, applicants, applicants admitted and
applicants enrolled in, and applicants who receive degrees from, each program;
b) each associate degree program's costs, including cost per degree and the funding sources
used to finance each program;
c) current workforce demand trends that require associate degrees in each specific program
offered;
d) current completion and continuation rates for each cohort of participating students in each
program, if available;
e) the extent to which each program fulfills identified workforce needs for new associate
degree programs;
f) information on graduate job placement for each program;
g) for each program, the cost to student, amount of financial aid offered and graduate student
debt levels; and
h) time-to-degree rates and completion rates for each program.
12. Requires each CTED that offers an associate degree program to annually report, by December
1, to the Governor, President of the Senate, Speaker of the House of Representatives and the
Joint Legislative Budget Committee the following information for the immediately preceding
school year:
a) the total number of students pursuing an associate degree at the CTED;
b) the total number of associate degrees completed;
c) workforce data showing demand for each associate degree program offered; and
d) the average tuition cost per credit hour for each associate degree program offered.
13. Defines community college, community college district, main campus and public university.
14. States that the Legislature finds and declares that:
a) associate degree programs offered pursuant to this act do not otherwise alter the role and
mission of a CTED;
b) the operational costs of CTED associate degree programs must be funded through student
tuition and program fees; and
c) additional taxpayer dollars may not be required to fund the new associate degree programs
offered by the CTEDs.
15. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Amendments Adopted by Committee
1. Adds nationally-accredited associate degrees to programs a CTED may offer.
2. Allows a CTED to meet either regional or national accreditation requirements.
3. Requires each CTED to provide a student enrolling in an associate degree program with a list
of institutions to which the associate degree is transferable. FACT SHEET – Amended
H.B. 2034
Page 4
House Action Senate Action
ED 2/8/22 DPA 7-3-0-0 ED 3/15/22 DPA 6-2-0
3
rd
Read 2/17/22 50-9-1
Prepared by Senate Research
March 16, 2022
LB/slp