BILL REQ. #:  H-0515.1 

Read first time 01/21/13.   Referred to Committee on Education.

     AN ACT Relating to establishing the digital college in the high school for high school students to earn dual credit through online courses; adding new sections to chapter 28A.630 RCW; creating a new section; and providing an expiration date.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   (1) The legislature finds that despite increased enrollment of students in online college courses, more use could be made of the power and reach of digital technology, particularly to expand access to dual credit opportunities for students in rural areas. The legislature further finds that low-income students and students of color continue to be underrepresented in dual credit programs, due in part to the barriers imposed by cost and the lack of academic support to ensure their success.
     (2) Therefore the legislature intends to establish a pilot project to expand free access to online college courses for high school students. The digital college in the high school is also intended to address some of the known barriers to student success in dual credit and online courses by eliminating costs for textbooks, fees, and transportation; providing a simple and consistent process for application and enrollment; and assuring continued support for the student from his or her high school.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 28A.630 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The digital college in the high school is established under this section and section 3 of this act as a pilot project for a two-year period beginning with the 2013-14 school year.
     (2) The office of the superintendent of public instruction and the state board for community and technical colleges must establish a single online portal for eligible high school students to apply and enroll in college courses offered by community and technical colleges through the Washington online system, regardless of which college offers the course. The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall host the enrollment portal on its web site.
     (3) The digital college in the high school is limited to courses that may be applied both toward local or state high school graduation requirements and toward distribution requirements at a four-year institution of higher education as defined in RCW 28B.10.016 under the statewide direct transfer agreement.
     (4) Courses may be taught by community and technical college faculty or by a high school teacher approved by a community or technical college to be the course instructor on behalf of a college using the Washington online system.
     (5) The state board for community and technical colleges, in consultation with the colleges, must establish a common admission standard for students enrolling in the digital college in the high school. The standard may be based on one or more readily available placement tests but must be the same regardless of which college offers the course. The enrollment portal for the pilot project must contain information about how students may access the placement tests.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 28A.630 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) Eleventh and twelfth grade students or students who have not yet received the credits required for the award of a high school diploma and are eligible to be in the eleventh or twelfth grades may apply to enroll in courses offered through the digital college in the high school. However, students are eligible to enroll in program courses only if the board of directors of the student's school district has decided to participate in the pilot project. If a student is accepted to enroll in a college course under the pilot project, the office of the superintendent of public instruction, via the online enrollment portal, must send an electronic notice to the student's school district indicating the course information, including the college offering the course, course hours and credits, and contact information for the course instructor.
     (2) Students may not be required to pay any tuition and fees for courses in the digital college in the high school, or any other fees charged by community and technical colleges. Costs for textbooks and materials must be paid using the reimbursement system under subsection (3) of this section.
     (3) Each student's school district must transmit to the state board for community and technical colleges an amount per each full-time equivalent college student at statewide uniform rates. The superintendent of public instruction shall separately calculate and allocate moneys appropriated for basic education under RCW 28A.150.260 to school districts for purposes of making such payments and for granting school districts fifteen percent thereof to provide support services as required under subsection (4) of this section. The calculations and allocations must be based upon the estimated statewide annual average per full-time equivalent high school student allocations under RCW 28A.150.260, excluding small high school enhancements and career and technical education enhancements, and applicable rules adopted under chapter 34.05 RCW. The state board for community and technical colleges must transmit the per full-time equivalent student funding to the appropriate community or technical college based on the standards and procedures of the Washington online system, including covering the costs of textbooks and materials. The funds received by a college shall not be deemed tuition or operating fees.
     (4) A school district must assign a staff member at the student's high school to monitor the progress of each student enrolled in the digital college in the high school, including providing technical assistance, instructional assistance, and initiating contact with the course instructor as necessary to support the student in successfully completing the course. If the student continues also to be enrolled in courses offered by the high school, the student may access the online courses using available computers on the high school campus. The state board for community and technical colleges and the office of the superintendent of public instruction must develop a common consent form for students enrolling in the digital college in the high school to permit disclosure of education records under the family education rights and privacy act between the course instructor and the designated high school staff member so that the staff member may monitor the student's progress under this subsection.
     (5) A school district must grant academic credit to a student who successfully completes a course under the digital college in the high school. The credit must be applied toward graduation requirements and subject area requirements. Evidence of the successful completion of each course must be included in the student's education records and high school transcript. The transcript must note that the course was taken through an institution of higher education.
     (6) The community or technical college that provided the course instruction must award college credit to a student who successfully completes a course under the digital college in the high school. The college may not charge a fee for the award of the credit.
     (7) The digital college in the high school is in addition to and does not affect students' opportunities to enroll in online college courses or on-campus college courses under the running start program under RCW 28A.600.300 through 28A.600.400, or on-campus college in the high school program courses under RCW 28A.600.290.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   A new section is added to chapter 28A.630 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The office of the superintendent of public instruction must conduct a marketing and communications campaign to inform parents, students, and school districts about the opportunity for students to earn dual high school and college credit under the digital college in the high school, with no cost for tuition, fees, or textbooks.
     (2) The office of the superintendent of public instruction, in consultation with the state board for community and technical colleges, must evaluate the digital college in the high school and submit a report to the education and higher education committees of the legislature by January 15, 2015. The report must include information about student demographics, course enrollment, and course completion under the program compared to regularly enrolled high school students and students enrolled in the running start program and the on-campus college in the high school program.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   This act expires August 31, 2015.