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March 1, 2024 HB 24-1305
Legislative Council Staff
Nonpartisan Services for Colorado’s Legislature
Fiscal Note
Drafting Number:
Prime Sponsors:
LLS 24-0417
Rep. Lindstedt; Lukens
Sen. Baisley
Date:
Bill Status:
Fiscal Analyst:
March 1, 2024
House Education
John Armstrong | 303-866-6289
john.armstrong@coleg.gov
Bill Topic: CHANGES FOR CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT STUDENTS
Summary of
Fiscal Impact:
☐ State Revenue
☒ State Expenditure
☐ State Transfer
☐ TABOR Refund
☐ Local Government
☐ School District
The bill modifies guidelines for the Pathway in Technology Early College High School
(P-TECH) Program. The bill will increase workload to higher education students and
the Department of Higher Education beginning in FY 2024-25.
Appropriation
Summary:
No appropriation is required.
Fiscal Note
Status:
The fiscal note reflects the introduced bill.
Summary of Legislation
The Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH) Program allows students in
approved programs to graduate from high school with an associate’s degree or certificate in
certain disciplines. The bill expands the allowable disciplines to include industries beyond the
science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields.
Under current law, credits earned through a P-TECH program, concurrent enrollment courses,
developmental education courses, the Accelerating Students in Concurrent Enrollment (ASCENT)
program, and the Teacher Recruitment and Education Program (TREP) program count against a
student’s allowable College Opportunity Fund (COF) limit. The bill changes this law so that
P-TECH, concurrent enrollment, development ASCENT, and TREP credits do not count against
this credit limit.
Background
The COF program provides tuition assistance to eligible resident, undergraduate students. It
provides assistance for up to 145 credit hours over their lifetime. TREP, ASCENT, and P-TECH
programs provide college credit for students who stay in enrolled for a fifth or sixth year in high
school while taking postsecondary courses Page 2
March 1, 2024 HB 24-1305
State Expenditures
The bill increases state expenditures and workload, as discussed below.
Department of Higher Education. The Department of Higher Education currently administers
COF applications, including determining if students are eligible based on the amount of credits
they have earned. The bill will minimally increase the review time these staff spend on
determining eligibility; no change in appropriations is required.
Institutions of higher education. Institutions of higher education will update their rules and
publications to reflect the changes in the bill. This change is workload is assumed to be minimal.
School finance. Students enrolled in P-TECH programs are counted as extended high school
students and are funded at a flat rate through the school finance formula, estimated to be
$10,244 in FY 2024-25. To the extent that the bill increases enrollment in P-TECH programs, the
state share of school finance will increase. No change in appropriations is required. Any changes
in the state share will be handled through annual school finance budget process. The state share
is paid from the General Fund, State Education Fund, and State Public School Fund.
School District
School districts that participate in the P-TECH program will update information regarding cap
limits. This additional workload is assumed to be minimal.
Effective Date
The bill takes effect upon signature of the Governor, or upon becoming law without his
signature.
State and Local Government Contacts
Education Higher Education
The revenue and expenditure impacts in this fiscal note represent changes from current law under the bill for each
fiscal year. For additional information about fiscal notes, please visit the General Assembly website.