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