| 1 | 1 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . No. 4521 |
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| 2 | 2 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 3 | 3 | | ________________________________________ |
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| 4 | 4 | | HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES , April 8, 2024. |
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| 5 | 5 | | The committee on Higher Education, to whom were referred the |
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| 6 | 6 | | petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 818) of Brendan P. Crighton, |
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| 7 | 7 | | Manny Cruz, Thomas M. Stanley and James B. Eldridge for legislation |
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| 8 | 8 | | relative to college credits while attending high school and the petition |
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| 9 | 9 | | (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1286) of Jeffrey N. Roy, Kate Lipper- |
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| 10 | 10 | | Garabedian and others relative high schools providing and funding college |
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| 11 | 11 | | programs, reports recommending that the accompanying bill (House, No. |
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| 12 | 12 | | 4521) ought to pass. |
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| 13 | 13 | | For the committee, |
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| 14 | 14 | | DAVID M. ROGERS. 1 of 11 |
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| 15 | 15 | | FILED ON: 3/8/2024 |
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| 16 | 16 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4521 |
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| 17 | 17 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 18 | 18 | | _______________ |
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| 19 | 19 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court |
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| 20 | 20 | | (2023-2024) |
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| 21 | 21 | | _______________ |
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| 22 | 22 | | An Act relative to college in high school. |
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| 23 | 23 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 24 | 24 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 25 | 25 | | 1 SECTION 1. Section 9B of chapter 15A of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 |
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| 26 | 26 | | 2Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “commonwealth” in line 6 the |
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| 27 | 27 | | 3following words:- or any college in high school program administered pursuant to section 37 of |
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| 28 | 28 | | 4chapter 69. |
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| 29 | 29 | | 5 SECTION 2. Section 16 of said chapter 15A is hereby amended by inserting after the |
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| 30 | 30 | | 6word “nursing” in line 5 the following words:- or any college in high school program |
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| 31 | 31 | | 7administered pursuant to section 37 of chapter 69, |
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| 32 | 32 | | 8 SECTION 3. Chapter 15A of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after |
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| 33 | 33 | | 9section 39 the following section:- |
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| 34 | 34 | | 10 Section 39A. (a) All public institutions of higher education shall develop written policies |
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| 35 | 35 | | 11and procedures for accepting for the purposes of course credit to satisfy degree requirements |
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| 36 | 36 | | 12successful completion of college in high school courses as provided in section 37 of chapter 69, |
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| 37 | 37 | | 13or successful completion of dual enrollment courses. In their policy, the institution shall: 2 of 11 |
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| 38 | 38 | | 14 (1) establish whether credit will be granted for general education, major or elective |
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| 39 | 39 | | 15requirements at the institution; |
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| 40 | 40 | | 16 (2) include procedures related to the transferability of these credits to another institution |
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| 41 | 41 | | 17of higher education; |
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| 42 | 42 | | 18 (3) the amount and type of any course credit that would be granted to the applicant under |
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| 43 | 43 | | 19the policy required in subsection (a); and |
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| 44 | 44 | | 20 (4) any other academic requirement that the applicant would satisfy under the policy. |
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| 45 | 45 | | 21 (b) All policies and procedures governing the awarding of credit shall be posted on the |
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| 46 | 46 | | 22institution’s website under the category of admission, which the institution shall update as |
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| 47 | 47 | | 23necessary to reflect any changes in policies and procedures. In addition, each institution shall |
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| 48 | 48 | | 24submit its policies and procedures, or any changes thereto, to the department of higher education |
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| 49 | 49 | | 25which shall post each institution’s policies and procedures on the department’s website. |
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| 50 | 50 | | 26 (c) The board of higher education, in cooperation with the board of trustees of each |
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| 51 | 51 | | 27public institution including the University of Massachusetts, shall annually review the college in |
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| 52 | 52 | | 28high school credit-granting policies of each public institution of higher education in accordance |
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| 53 | 53 | | 29with the requirements of this section and file a report with its findings and any recommendations |
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| 54 | 54 | | 30with the clerks of the senate and the house of representatives and chairs of the joint committee on |
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| 55 | 55 | | 31higher education not later than July 1. Each public institution of higher education shall provide |
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| 56 | 56 | | 32the board of higher education with all necessary data, in accordance with the federal Family |
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| 57 | 57 | | 33Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, to conduct the analysis. 3 of 11 |
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| 58 | 58 | | 34 SECTION 4. Chapter 29 of the General Law is hereby amended by inserting after section |
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| 59 | 59 | | 352CCCCC the following new section:- |
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| 60 | 60 | | 36 Section 2DDDDD. (a) There shall be established and set up on the books of the |
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| 61 | 61 | | 37commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Massachusetts College in High School Trust |
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| 62 | 62 | | 38Fund. The fund shall be administered by the commissioner of the department of elementary and |
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| 63 | 63 | | 39secondary education, in consultation with the commissioner of the department of higher |
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| 64 | 64 | | 40education. The fund shall be credited with: (i) revenue from appropriations or other money |
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| 65 | 65 | | 41authorized by the general court and specifically designated to be credited to the fund; (ii) interest |
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| 66 | 66 | | 42earned on such revenues; and (iii) funds from public and private sources such as gifts, grants and |
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| 67 | 67 | | 43donations to further the rates of student preparedness for workforce and postgraduate success. |
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| 68 | 68 | | 44Amounts credited to the fund shall not be subject to further appropriation and any money |
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| 69 | 69 | | 45remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund. |
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| 70 | 70 | | 46 (b) Amounts credited to the fund may focus on underserved communities across the |
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| 71 | 71 | | 47commonwealth, including those school districts with high concentrations of economically |
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| 72 | 72 | | 48disadvantaged students. |
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| 73 | 73 | | 49 (c) Amounts received from private sources shall be approved by the commissioner of |
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| 74 | 74 | | 50elementary and secondary education and subject to review before being deposited in the fund to |
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| 75 | 75 | | 51ensure that pledged funds are not accompanied by conditions, explicit or implicit, on the |
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| 76 | 76 | | 52implementation of college in high school programming that may be detrimental to the neutral |
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| 77 | 77 | | 53education policy. The review shall be made publicly available. |
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| 78 | 78 | | 54 (d) Annually, not later than October 1, the commissioner shall report to the clerks of the |
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| 79 | 79 | | 55house of representatives and senate, the joint committee on education, the joint committee on 4 of 11 |
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| 80 | 80 | | 56higher education, and the house and senate committees on ways and means on the fund's activity. |
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| 81 | 81 | | 57The report shall include, but not be limited to: (i) the source and amount of funds received; (ii) |
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| 82 | 82 | | 58the amounts distributed and the purpose of expenditures from the fund, including but not limited |
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| 83 | 83 | | 59to, funds expended to assist school districts in meeting the requirements in section 37 of chapter |
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| 84 | 84 | | 6069; (iii) any grants provided to institutions of higher education and other stakeholder |
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| 85 | 85 | | 61organizations; and (iv) anticipated revenue and expenditure projections for the next year. |
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| 86 | 86 | | 62 SECTION 5. Chapter 69 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after |
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| 87 | 87 | | 63section 36 the following two sections:- |
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| 88 | 88 | | 64 Section 37. All early college programs established under this section shall: |
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| 89 | 89 | | 65 (1) Offer a coherent sequence of courses that allows a student to earn a high school |
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| 90 | 90 | | 66diploma and achieve at least one of the following: |
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| 91 | 91 | | 67 (i) the accumulation of transferable college credits; provided that, academic courses that |
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| 92 | 92 | | 68count for college credit shall be those agreed to by the institutions of higher education |
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| 93 | 93 | | 69participating in the partnership with the high school; |
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| 94 | 94 | | 70 (ii) an industry-recognized credential or certificate, including those determined to be |
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| 95 | 95 | | 71necessary for occupations with high employment value as defined in section 38; or |
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| 96 | 96 | | 72 (iii) participation in a registered apprenticeship, pre-apprenticeship, or apprentice |
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| 97 | 97 | | 73readiness program; |
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| 98 | 98 | | 74 (2) Prepare students adequately for future success in the workforce or in an institution of |
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| 99 | 99 | | 75higher education; 5 of 11 |
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| 100 | 100 | | 76 (3) Encourage the cooperative or shared use of resources, personnel and facilities |
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| 101 | 101 | | 77between public high schools, public and independent colleges or universities and employers; |
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| 102 | 102 | | 78 (4) Emphasize parental involvement and provide consistent counseling, advising and |
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| 103 | 103 | | 79parent conferencing so that parents and students can make responsible decisions regarding course |
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| 104 | 104 | | 80selection and can track the student's academic progress and success; |
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| 105 | 105 | | 81 (5) Develop methods for early identification of potential participating students in the |
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| 106 | 106 | | 82middle grades and through high school and provide outreach to those students to promote |
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| 107 | 107 | | 83academic preparation and awareness of college in high school programs; and |
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| 108 | 108 | | 84 (6) Develop strategies to identify and engage underserved populations including by |
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| 109 | 109 | | 85income, race, ethnicity, sex, English language learner status and students with disabilities. |
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| 110 | 110 | | 86 (c) Pursuant to regulations to be promulgated by the board, high schools are expressly |
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| 111 | 111 | | 87authorized and encouraged to offer an affordable college in high school program to students |
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| 112 | 112 | | 88before the completion of their 12th grade year that incorporates one or more of the following: (1) |
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| 113 | 113 | | 89early college; (2) dual enrollment; (3) industry-recognized credentialing in high school; (4) |
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| 114 | 114 | | 90advanced placement courses; (5) international baccalaureate programs; or (6) other approaches |
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| 115 | 115 | | 91for college and career programs. |
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| 116 | 116 | | 92 Section 38. (a) There shall be a College in High School Joint Committee, hereinafter the |
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| 117 | 117 | | 93CIHS Joint Committee, charged with governing and overseeing the implementation of this |
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| 118 | 118 | | 94section and making recommendations to the board of elementary and secondary education and |
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| 119 | 119 | | 95the board of higher education. The CIHS Joint Committee shall develop and implement |
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| 120 | 120 | | 96recommendations that include but are not limited to the following: (1) helping drive the |
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| 121 | 121 | | 97commonwealth’s efforts to grow and expand college in high school programs; (2) establishing 6 of 11 |
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| 122 | 122 | | 98and monitoring robust performance requirements and targeted enrollments for all participating |
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| 123 | 123 | | 99programs statewide (3) identifying and certifying new college in high school programs; and (4) |
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| 124 | 124 | | 100setting standards for the participating students to be considered students of their high school for |
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| 125 | 125 | | 101purposes of chapter 70 calculations for up to 2 years in order to complete certificates, degrees or |
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| 126 | 126 | | 102up to 2 years of transferable credits to a 4-year institution. The CIHS Joint Committee shall |
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| 127 | 127 | | 103consist of the secretary of the executive office of education or a designee; the commissioner of |
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| 128 | 128 | | 104the department of elementary and secondary education or designee; the commissioner of the |
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| 129 | 129 | | 105department of higher education or designee; two members of the board of elementary and |
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| 130 | 130 | | 106secondary education, who shall be appointed by the chair of the board of elementary and |
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| 131 | 131 | | 107secondary education; and two members of the board of higher education, who shall be appointed |
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| 132 | 132 | | 108by the chair of the board of higher education. |
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| 133 | 133 | | 109 (b) The CIHS Joint Committee shall review annually a set of per-credit charges that the |
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| 134 | 134 | | 110public and private institutions of higher education participating in a designated college in high |
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| 135 | 135 | | 111school program require for providing credit-earning courses. The per-credit charge may be |
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| 136 | 136 | | 112subject to factors, including but not limited to: (1) the segment of colleges offering certain |
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| 137 | 137 | | 113courses; (2) the site where the course is taught; (3) whether the course has extra costs associated |
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| 138 | 138 | | 114with enrollment and (4) whether there are minimum numbers of participating students per |
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| 139 | 139 | | 115section offered. |
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| 140 | 140 | | 116 (c) The CIHS Joint Committee shall propose a budget to the commissioner of the |
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| 141 | 141 | | 117department of elementary and secondary education that reflects the goals and objectives of the |
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| 142 | 142 | | 118office. 7 of 11 |
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| 143 | 143 | | 119 (d) The college in high school programs shall be open to all enrolled students, on a space |
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| 144 | 144 | | 120available basis, and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, creed, sex, |
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| 145 | 145 | | 121gender identity, ethnicity, sexual orientation, mental or physical disability, age, ancestry, special |
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| 146 | 146 | | 122needs, proficiency in the English language or academic achievement. A lottery shall be held if |
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| 147 | 147 | | 123more students apply than can be accommodated. Institutions may grant preference to students |
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| 148 | 148 | | 124from low-income families. |
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| 149 | 149 | | 125 (e) The CIHS Joint Committee shall establish the information and requirements it deems |
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| 150 | 150 | | 126necessary to be included in any application for designation as a college in high school program in |
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| 151 | 151 | | 127order to ensure a high-quality and rigorous college in high school program. The CIHS Joint |
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| 152 | 152 | | 128Committee, after consultation with the department of higher education, shall establish standards |
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| 153 | 153 | | 129for approving and designating college in high school programs. |
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| 154 | 154 | | 130 (f) Where required, each designated college in high school program shall enter into an |
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| 155 | 155 | | 131agreement with at least one postsecondary institution that provides students with opportunities to |
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| 156 | 156 | | 132receive postsecondary credits during the student's participation in the program. Partner high |
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| 157 | 157 | | 133schools and colleges shall work together to ensure that college credits automatically transfer to |
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| 158 | 158 | | 134Massachusetts public postsecondary institutions upon completion of the program and admittance |
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| 159 | 159 | | 135to one of those public institutions. In addition, partnering high schools and colleges should |
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| 160 | 160 | | 136reduce barriers to college and consider automatic admission to the participating college upon |
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| 161 | 161 | | 137successful completion of the college in high school program. The agreement shall establish how |
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| 162 | 162 | | 138the program will be sustainable on current funding plus any anticipated annual state supplement |
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| 163 | 163 | | 139for designated college in high school programs as well as the designated duties for the high |
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| 164 | 164 | | 140school, in the areas of program coordination, student support, faculty support, career partnership |
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| 165 | 165 | | 141coordination and performance monitoring. 8 of 11 |
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| 166 | 166 | | 142 (g) Designation as a college in high school program shall be for an initial period of five |
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| 167 | 167 | | 143years, subject to review after the first three years, and renewable subject to performance. The |
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| 168 | 168 | | 144department of elementary and secondary education shall, subject to appropriation, provide |
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| 169 | 169 | | 145additional funding to designated programs for each participating student. |
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| 170 | 170 | | 146 (h) Annually, by December 31, each college in high school program shall file a report |
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| 171 | 171 | | 147with the commissioner of the department of elementary and secondary education and the |
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| 172 | 172 | | 148commissioner of higher education on performance measures, including, but not limited to the |
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| 173 | 173 | | 149following categories: |
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| 174 | 174 | | 150 (i) high school graduation rates of participating students; |
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| 175 | 175 | | 151 (ii) percentage of participating students who complete the program; |
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| 176 | 176 | | 152 (iii) percentage of participating students who gain any postsecondary credits; |
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| 177 | 177 | | 153 (iv) credits earned by participating students in college in high school programs, including |
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| 178 | 178 | | 154percentage of each program incorporating early college to gain at least 12 credits; |
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| 179 | 179 | | 155 (v) percentage of participating students in a 6-year cohort who attain postsecondary |
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| 180 | 180 | | 156degrees; and |
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| 181 | 181 | | 157 (vi) college and career outcomes of participating students. |
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| 182 | 182 | | 158 The commissioners shall prepare an aggregate report for the senate and house chairs of |
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| 183 | 183 | | 159the joint committee on higher education, and the joint committee on education. |
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| 184 | 184 | | 160 (i) The CIHS Joint Committee and the board of elementary and secondary education and |
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| 185 | 185 | | 161board of higher education shall establish multi-year goals for the commonwealth for the 9 of 11 |
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| 186 | 186 | | 162attainment of college degrees and qualifying, industry-recognized certificates for students |
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| 187 | 187 | | 163participating in college in high school programs. Such goals shall include overall goals as well as |
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| 188 | 188 | | 164goals for historically underserved populations including by income, race, ethnicity, sex, English |
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| 189 | 189 | | 165language learner status and students with disabilities. Goals should include statewide-, district-, |
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| 190 | 190 | | 166and school-level goals. The office shall be responsible for ensuring annual, timely public |
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| 191 | 191 | | 167reporting of progress statewide and by district and school towards those goals. |
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| 192 | 192 | | 168 (j) The CIHS Joint Committee shall establish a publicly accessible online dashboard |
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| 193 | 193 | | 169using data from the reports filed pursuant to subsections (g) and (h) of the section to generate |
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| 194 | 194 | | 170information on each college in high school program. The purpose of the dashboard shall be to |
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| 195 | 195 | | 171create user-friendly displays of the overall success of the individual programs in achieving the |
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| 196 | 196 | | 172goals and shall be written in terms understandable to the general public and to help students and |
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| 197 | 197 | | 173their families identify available college in high school opportunities. |
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| 198 | 198 | | 174 (k) The CIHS Joint Committee Shall oversee all necessary college in high school |
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| 199 | 199 | | 175programs, including but not limited to programs that incorporate one or more of the following: |
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| 200 | 200 | | 176(1) early college; (2) dual enrollment; (3) industry-recognized credentialing in high school, |
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| 201 | 201 | | 177including those for credentials determined to be necessary for occupations with high employment |
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| 202 | 202 | | 178value as defined in section 38 of this chapter; (4) advanced placement; (5) international |
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| 203 | 203 | | 179baccalaureate programs; or (6) other approaches for college and career programs. |
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| 204 | 204 | | 180 SECTION 6. (a) The executive office of labor and workforce development shall create |
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| 205 | 205 | | 181and administer an 18-month pilot program allowing for the development and implementation of |
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| 206 | 206 | | 182an adult workforce high school diploma program to assist adults age 23 and older to obtain a |
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| 207 | 207 | | 183high school diploma and develop employability and career technical skills. 10 of 11 |
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| 208 | 208 | | 184 (b) To be considered eligible to participate in the program, a qualified provider must meet |
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| 209 | 209 | | 185the following criteria: experience in providing dropout re-engagement services, a course catalog |
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| 210 | 210 | | 186that includes all courses necessary to earn a regionally accredited high school diploma, the |
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| 211 | 211 | | 187ability to provide career pathways coursework, the ability to provide preparation for industry- |
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| 212 | 212 | | 188recognized credentials and stackable workforce credentials, the ability to provide career |
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| 213 | 213 | | 189placement services, the ability to provide employability skills certification aligned with the US |
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| 214 | 214 | | 190Department of Labor’s “Skills to Pay the Bills: Mastering Soft Skills for Workplace Success,” |
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| 215 | 215 | | 191and be accredited by a recognized regional accrediting body. The executive office of labor and |
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| 216 | 216 | | 192workforce development shall approve and publish a list of qualified providers according to these |
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| 217 | 217 | | 193criteria. |
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| 218 | 218 | | 194 (c) Funds shall be reimbursed to qualified providers for the completion of the following |
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| 219 | 219 | | 195milestones for each pupil served: each half credit, an employability skills certification, a |
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| 220 | 220 | | 196workforce credential requiring up to 50 hours of training, a workforce credential requiring |
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| 221 | 221 | | 197between 51-100 hours of training, a workforce credential requiring more than 100 hours of |
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| 222 | 222 | | 198training, an accredited high school diploma. |
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| 223 | 223 | | 199 (d) The executive office of labor and workforce development shall file a report on the |
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| 224 | 224 | | 200efficacy of the pilot program with the clerks of the senate and house of representatives, the house |
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| 225 | 225 | | 201and senate committees on ways and means and the joint committee on labor and workforce |
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| 226 | 226 | | 202development. The report shall include the following metrics: (a) the total number of adult |
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| 227 | 227 | | 203learners funded through the program; (b) total number of credits earned; (c) total number of |
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| 228 | 228 | | 204employability skills certifications issued; (d) the total number of workforce credentials earned; |
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| 229 | 229 | | 205and (e) the total number of graduates, in addition to any legislative recommendations. 11 of 11 |
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| 230 | 230 | | 206 SECTION 7. The commissioner may expend funds from the Twenty-First Century |
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| 231 | 231 | | 207Education Trust Fund established in section 35NNN of chapter 10 for college in high school |
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| 232 | 232 | | 208programs. |
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| 233 | 233 | | 209 SECTION 8. The first annual report required under section 38 of chapter 69, established |
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| 234 | 234 | | 210in section 5 of this act shall be submitted no later than December 31, 2027. |
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