Connecticut 2025 Regular Session

Connecticut House Bill HB06869 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

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5	5		General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 6869
6	6		January Session, 2025
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12	12		AN ACT EXPANDING DUAL ENROLLMENT AND CONCURRENT
13	13		ENROLLMENT OPPORTUNITIES.
14	14		Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
15	15		Assembly convened:
16	16
17	17		Section 1. Subsection (h) of section 10-221a of the general statutes is 1
18	18		repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2
19	19		2026): 3
20	20		(h) Only courses taken in grades nine to twelve, inclusive, and that 4
21	21		are in accordance with the state-wide subject matter content standards, 5
22	22		adopted by the State Board of Education pursuant to section 10-4, shall 6
23	23		satisfy the graduation requirements set forth in this section, except that 7
24	24		a local or regional board of education (1) may grant a student credit [(1)] 8
25	25		(A) toward meeting the high school graduation requirements upon the 9
26	26		successful demonstration of mastery of the subject matter content 10
27	27		described in this section achieved through educational experiences and 11
28	28		opportunities that provide flexible and multiple pathways to learning, 12
29	29		including cross-curricular graduation requirements, career and 13
30	30		technical education, virtual learning, work-based learning, service 14
31	31		learning, [dual enrollment and early college,] courses taken in middle 15
32	32		school, internships and student-designed independent studies, 16
33	33		provided such demonstration of mastery is in accordance with such 17
34	34		state-wide subject matter content standards; [(2)] (B) toward meeting a 18
35	35		specified course requirement upon the successful completion in grade 19 Substitute Bill No. 6869
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40	40		seven or eight of any course, the primary focus of which corresponds 20
41	41		directly to the subject matter of a specified course requirement in grades 21
42	42		nine to twelve, inclusive; [(3)] (C) toward meeting the high school 22
43	43		graduation requirement upon the successful completion of a world 23
44	44		language course [(A)] (i) in grade six, seven or eight, [(B)] (ii) through 24
45	45		on-line coursework, or [(C)] (iii) offered privately through a nonprofit 25
46	46		provider, provided such student achieves a passing grade on an 26
47	47		examination prescribed, within available appropriations, by the 27
48	48		Commissioner of Education and such credits do not exceed four; [(4)] 28
49	49		(D) toward meeting the high school graduation requirement upon 29
50	50		achievement of a passing grade on a subject area proficiency 30
51	51		examination identified and approved, within available appropriations, 31
52	52		by the Commissioner of Education, regardless of the number of hours 32
53	53		the student spent in a public school classroom learning such subject 33
54	54		matter; [(5)] (E) toward meeting the high school graduation requirement 34
55	55		upon the successful completion of coursework during the school year or 35
56	56		summer months at an institution accredited by the Board of Regents for 36
57	57		Higher Education or Office of Higher Education or regionally 37
58	58		accredited. One three-credit semester course, or its equivalent, at such 38
59	59		an institution shall equal one-half credit for purposes of this section; [(6)] 39
60	60		(F) toward meeting the high school graduation requirement upon the 40
61	61		successful completion of on-line coursework, provided the local or 41
62	62		regional board of education has adopted a policy in accordance with this 42
63	63		subdivision for the granting of credit for on-line coursework. Such a 43
64	64		policy shall ensure, at a minimum, that [(A)] (i) the workload required 44
65	65		by the on-line course is equivalent to that of a similar course taught in a 45
66	66		traditional classroom setting, [(B)] (ii) the content is rigorous and 46
67	67		aligned with curriculum guidelines approved by the State Board of 47
68	68		Education, where appropriate, [(C)] (iii) the course engages students 48
69	69		and has interactive components, which may include, but are not limited 49
70	70		to, required interactions between students and their teachers, 50
71	71		participation in on-line demonstrations, discussion boards or virtual 51
72	72		labs, [(D)] (iv) the program of instruction for such on-line coursework is 52
73	73		planned, ongoing and systematic, and [(E)] (v) the courses are [(i)] (I) 53
74	74		taught by teachers who are certified in the state or another state and 54 Substitute Bill No. 6869
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79	79		have received training on teaching in an on-line environment, or [(ii)] 55
80	80		(II) offered by institutions of higher education that are accredited by the 56
81	81		Board of Regents for Higher Education or Office of Higher Education or 57
82	82		regionally accredited; or [(7)] (G) toward meeting the high school 58
83	83		graduation requirement upon the successful completion of a credit 59
84	84		recovery program approved by the Commissioner of Education, and (2) 60
85	85		shall grant a student credit toward meeting the high school graduation 61
86	86		requirement upon the successful completion of a dual enrollment or 62
87	87		concurrent enrollment course, as defined in section 4 of this act, 63
88	88		provided such local or regional board of education approves the 64
89	89		student's enrollment in such dual enrollment or concurrent enrollment 65
90	90		course. 66
91	91		Sec. 2. Section 10-221x of the general statutes is amended by adding 67
92	92		subsection (d) as follows (Effective January 1, 2026): 68
93	93		(NEW) (d) Not later than February 1, 2026, and annually thereafter, 69
94	94		the Department of Education shall notify parents of public school 70
95	95		students in grades eight to eleven, inclusive, about opportunities to 71
96	96		pursue a challenging curriculum and the availability of courses that 72
97	97		grant postsecondary credit. 73
98	98		Sec. 3. Section 10-221w of the general statutes is repealed and the 74
99	99		following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2025): 75
100	100		(a) As used in this section: 76
101	101		(1) "Advanced course or program" means an honors class, advanced 77
102	102		placement class, International Baccalaureate program, Cambridge 78
103	103		International program, dual enrollment, dual credit, early college or any 79
104	104		other advanced or accelerated course or program offered by a local or 80
105	105		regional board of education in grades nine to twelve, inclusive; and 81
106	106		(2) "Prior academic performance" means the course or courses that a 82
107	107		student has taken, the grades received for such course or courses and a 83
108	108		student's grade point average. 84 Substitute Bill No. 6869
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113	113		(b) Not later than July 1, 2022, each local and regional board of 85
114	114		education shall adopt a policy, or revise an existing policy, concerning 86
115	115		the eligibility criteria for student enrollment in an advanced course or 87
116	116		program. Such policy shall provide for multiple methods by which a 88
117	117		student may satisfy the eligibility criteria for enrollment in an advanced 89
118	118		course or program, including, but not limited to, recommendations 90
119	119		from teachers, administrators, school counselors or other school 91
120	120		personnel. Such eligibility criteria shall not be based exclusively on a 92
121	121		student's prior academic performance and any use of a student's prior 93
122	122		academic performance shall rely on evidence-based indicators of how a 94
123	123		student will perform in an advanced course or program. 95
124	124		(c) Any policy adopted or revised and implemented under this 96
125	125		section shall be in accordance with guidance provided by the 97
126	126		Department of Education. 98
127	127		(d) Not later than July 1, 2026, the Commissioner of Education shall, 99
128	128		in partnership with the constituent units of the state system of higher 100
129	129		education and independent institutions of higher education, as defined 101
130	130		in section 10a-173, develop a model agreement between secondary 102
131	131		schools and postsecondary institutions for the provision of dual 103
132	132		enrollment courses and concurrent enrollment courses, as such terms 104
133	133		are defined in section 4 of this act, and postsecondary credit courses to 105
134	134		students in grades nine to twelve, inclusive. 106
135	135		Sec. 4. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2025) (a) As used in this section: 107
136	136		(1) "Concurrent enrollment course" means a postsecondary education 108
137	137		course in any academic subject or career-oriented pathway delivered at 109
138	138		a high school through which a high school student is simultaneously 110
139	139		enrolled in an institution of higher education and is taught by a high 111
140	140		school teacher approved by such institution of higher education; and 112
141	141		(2) "Dual enrollment course" means a postsecondary education 113
142	142		course in any academic subject or career-oriented pathway through 114
143	143		which a high school student is simultaneously enrolled in an institution 115
144	144		of higher education and is taught by a faculty member of such 116 Substitute Bill No. 6869
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149	149		institution of higher education. 117
150	150		(b) Not later than July 1, 2028, each institution of higher education in 118
151	151		the state that currently offers a concurrent enrollment course shall 119
152	152		obtain accreditation for such course from the National Alliance of 120
153	153		Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships, unless the Department of 121
154	154		Education approves an extension of time for an accreditation in writing. 122
155	155		(c) Any institution of higher education in the state that establishes a 123
156	156		new concurrent enrollment course shall obtain accreditation for such 124
157	157		course from the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment 125
158	158		Partnerships not later than three years after establishing such course, 126
159	159		unless the Department of Education approves an extension of time for 127
160	160		an accreditation in writing. 128
161	161		(d) Not later than August 1, 2025, and annually thereafter, each 129
162	162		institution of higher education that offers a dual enrollment or 130
163	163		concurrent enrollment course shall report to the Department of 131
164	164		Education, in a form and manner prescribed by the Commissioner of 132
165	165		Education, for each high school student who enrolled in a dual 133
166	166		enrollment or concurrent enrollment course during the preceding 134
167	167		academic year (1) such student's name, date of birth, student 135
168	168		identification number, the name of the high school where such student 136
169	169		was enrolled and the code assigned to such high school by the 137
170	170		department, (2) for each dual enrollment or concurrent enrollment 138
171	171		course in which such student was enrolled, the course name, the subject 139
172	172		matter or academic department associated with the course, the course 140
173	173		code assigned to such course by the department, the location where each 141
174	174		course was provided and the academic term and year in which such 142
175	175		student enrolled in such course, (3) the grade and credits earned by such 143
176	176		student for each dual enrollment or concurrent enrollment course, (4) 144
177	177		whether such course was a dual enrollment or concurrent enrollment 145
178	178		course, and (5) any other information requested by the department. 146
179	179		This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
180	180		sections:
181	181		Substitute Bill No. 6869
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186	186		Section 1 July 1, 2026 10-221a(h)
187	187		Sec. 2 January 1, 2026 10-221x(d)
188	188		Sec. 3 July 1, 2025 10-221w
189	189		Sec. 4 July 1, 2025 New section
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	191	+	Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
	192	+	In Section 3(d), "dual enrollment courses, concurrent enrollment
	193	+	courses, as defined in section 4" was changed to "dual enrollment
	194	+	courses and concurrent enrollment courses, as such terms are defined in
	195	+	section 4" for clarity.
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192	197		HED Joint Favorable Subst.
193		-	ED Joint Favorable
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