Title: An act relating to a college in the high school program that is distinct from the running start program.

Brief Description: Creating the college in the high school program.

Sponsors: Senators McAuliffe, Pridemore, Weinstein, Thibaudeau, Kohl-Welles and Berkey.

Brief History:

Committee Activity: Early Learning, K-12 & Higher Education: 2/1/06, 2/3/06 [DPS-WM].

SENATE COMMITTEE ON EARLY LEARNING, K-12 & HIGHER EDUCATION

Majority Report: That Substitute Senate Bill No. 6846 be substituted therefor, and the substitute bill do pass and be referred to Committee on Ways & Means.Signed by Senators McAuliffe, Chair; Pridemore, Vice Chair, Higher Education; Weinstein, Vice Chair, Early Learning & K-12; Schmidt, Ranking Minority Member; Benton, Berkey, Delvin, Eide, Kohl-Welles, Pflug, Rasmussen, Rockefeller, Schoesler and Shin.

Staff: Susan Mielke (786-7422)

Background: Currently, some school districts offer students opportunities to earn both high school and college credit through various programs, including Running Start, Tech Prep, Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and College in the High School (CHS). The CHS programs are not currently in statute. The CHS programs are established by contract between an individual school district and an institution of higher education.

In 2004, the Legislature passed a bill directing expansion of dual enrollment programs. Governor Locke vetoed the bill but in his veto message he requested that the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI), the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC), and the Higher Education Coordinating Board proceed with the work and report back to the Legislature. The dual enrollment/dual credit work group was formed and consisted of representatives of the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), Council of Presidents, SBCTC, individual institutions of higher education, the Mukilteo School District, the Association of Washington School Principals, and the Washington Association of School Administrators. The work group reported that expanding the CHS programs is the most likely way to create programs quickly that will serve more and different kinds of students.

Summary of Substitute Bill: The College in the High School program is established in statute.

The OSPI, SBCTC, and the public baccalaureate institutions must jointly develop and adopt rules for the CHS program. The rules must encourage the maximum use of the program and not narrow or limit enrollment options. The local contracts governing each program must comply with the guidelines of the OSPI, SBCTC, and public baccalaureate institutions.

The SPI is authorized to distribute to school districts a seven per cent increase over the basic education allocation for each 5-credits taken by a student in the CHS program. The school districts then transfer the program course amount to the appropriate institution of higher education. These funds will not be deemed tuition or operating fees and may be retained by the institution of higher education.

The student will not be required to pay any additional fees to participate in the program. The student will not be included in the count for any enrollment restrictions imposed by the state on the institution of higher education.

If the student successfully completes the CHS course, then the school district must grant high school credit to the student. This will be included in the student's school records and on the student's transcript. If there is no comparable course offered by the school district, prior to students enrolling in the course, the school district superintendent will determine how many credits to award for successful completion of the course.

Eleventh and twelfth grade students may participate in the CHS program. Participating school districts and institutions of higher education may establish standards for admission for program courses. A CHS program may be included in an educational pathway.

Participating school districts must provide information about the CHS program to all students and parents of students in grades ten through twelve and the SPI must include information about the program in the information booklet the SPI is required to provide addressing enrollment options. SPI may distribute the information booklet in an electronic format. The SPI must develop advising guidelines to ensure that students and parents understand that college credits earned in dual credit programs may impact eligibility for financial aid.

Clarifying language is added to distinguish the CHS statutes from the Running Start statutes.

Substitute Bill Compared to Original Bill: The language addressing the funding is changed to clarify that a seven per cent increase over the basic education allocation would be provided for each 5-credits taken by a student in the College in the High School program.

Appropriation: None.

Fiscal Note: Requested on January 27, 2006.

Committee/Commission/Task Force Created: No.

Effective Date: Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.

Testimony For: This bill is the result of the very hard work of a workgroup that involved representatives from three sectors of education: the K-12 system, the community college system, and the baccalaureate system. A college in the high school program can help us enable more students to take more challenging courses in their 11th and 12th grade years and better prepare for their future. This program will help school districts to partner with higher education to create more equitable access to college level courses and enable more students to learn that they can be successful in college level courses. This proposal addresses the additional expenses for both the school districts and the higher education institutions. This additional funding will result in greater efficiency throughout the system while better preparing students. This bill ensures the rigor in the college level courses will be maintained.

Testimony Against: None.

Testimony Other: One small concern with this bill is that only public institutions of higher education are addressed and not private institutions. Not clear what the qualifications will be for those who provide the instruction and whether current competent high school instructors would be permitted to teach these courses. Additionally, there is a question how this will comply with collective bargaining agreements. Another concern is whether students who take these courses would have them accepted at out-of-state institutions of higher education. The Legislature should also consider expanding, increasing funding, and improving the monitoring and reporting on the Running Start program.

Who Testified: PRO: Senator Rosemary McAuliffe, prime sponsor; Kyra Kester, Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction; Sally Zeiger Hanson, State Board for Community and Technical Colleges; Cindy Morana, Council of Presidents; John Martens, Centralia College; Vee Sutherlin, Community Colleges of Spokane; Bob McMullen, Association of Washington School Principals; Bjorn Danielson, Antioch University.

OTHER: Greg Scheiderer, Independent Colleges of Washington; Gary King, Washington Education Association; Don Carlson, Public School Employees of Washington.